After Speed Racer became one of the WB's bigger bombs, it seemed as if after a string of failures like Rock N Rolla, The Invasion, V for Vendetta; the end was here. And really a look at Joel Silver's recent string of movies, whether it's Whiteout or Ninja Assassin, is really a look at another string of failures.

But the question is, can Sherlock Holmes redeem Joel Silver?

Sherlock Holmes is by no means an uncomplicated success. Opening the weekend after Avatar denied it a first place spot and probably limited its box office. Still even in the number 8 spot, Sherlock Holmes is set to clear 200 million dollars. And with a projected budget of under a 100 million, itself a major achievement for a modern day action movie, Sherlock Holmes is profitable. There's no real doubt about that.

It's also a franchise. And there's little doubt about that. And even more so it might be a redemption for two men, Joel Silver and its director, Guy Ritchie, whose career downturn and Madonna association seemed to doom him for a while. And if not for Iron Man, it might even be the redemption for Robert Downey Jr, another fallen star, whose actual redemption in the Hollywood box office triumph of Iron Man, but whose charismatic turn certainly contributed to their redemption.

And now as Joel Silver moves into safe territory with Lethal Weapon 5, a movie no one wants, but that will make plenty of money anyway, he can thank the pulp fictions of one Arthur Conan Doyle.