Hollywood stars Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law talk to Rajeev Masand about the (possibly) homoerotic relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, and why everyone wants them to do a romantic comedy together...

A suite in London's Claridges Hotel has been turned into something of a mini buffet, with finger sandwiches and cold cuts and candies laid out, even as the occupants of the room --- Hollywood pin-up boys Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law --- have settled comfortably into a large sofa at the other end, showing little interest in the goodies. The actors, who are roommates in their new movie Sherlock Holmes, reinvent Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic Baker Street detective and his faithful ally for director Guy Ritchie, but repeatedly insist their take isn't much of a departure from the original writings.

Downey Jr, an A-list star after the success of Iron Man and an Oscar nomination for Tropic Thunder, is chatty and affable and regularly thumps Law on his back each time his British co-star delivers a smart one. Law, meanwhile, the tabloids' darling and an accomplished actor himself, is warm, and always volunteers a reply after Downey Jr has had his turn.

The film is a fast-paced action-adventure with many thrills, shockingly dissimilar to the dozens of movie and television versions that have existed before it. At its heart however, is the sparkling chemistry of its leads who, in the parts of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, turn what could have been just another chases-and-blasts picture into a witty, engaging character piece.

As you take a seat across from them and fire away your questions, it becomes evident that the camaraderie between the men wasn't manufactured for the screen.

Excerpts from an interview:

You've made a very different kind of Sherlock Holmes from the ones we've seen in the past. What do you think is going to surprise people about this version?
Robert Downey Jr: Probably how much more of a rediscovery of the original Conan Doyle description and stories it is. Of course it's a movie so it's a departure and it's an amalgam and all that stuff, but we worked real hard.
Jude Law: I think the energy level... People always think of Holmes and Watson and the way that they deciphered their cases as purely cerebral and all done in the head. And a lot of that is present in this and it's part of the fun --- seeing them unpick the problems.
But then, out on the front line when they're out there dealing with it and trying to put things to an end, and getting through hordes of bad guys, you know, in the books that's referred to as "apprehending" or "getting past". In the film --- fortunately because it's film, and it's Guy Ritchie's film --- it's incredibly physical and adrenalised, and that element is really going to excite people.