The film went on general release in the United States on 25 December 2009, and on 26 December 2009 in the UK, Ireland, and the Pacific, and was met with a largely positive critical reaction. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, Best Original Score and Best Art Direction, which it lost to Up and Avatar, respectively.
In 1891, London detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and his partner and flatmate Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) race to prevent the ritual murder of a woman by Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), who has killed five other young women similarly. They stop the murder before Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan) and the police arrive to arrest Blackwood.
In 1891, London detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and his partner and flatmate Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) race to prevent the ritual murder of a woman by Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), who has killed five other young women similarly. They stop the murder before Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan) and the police arrive to arrest Blackwood.