"The game is afoot!" Those famous words - uttered excitedly by arguably the greatest fictional detective of them all, Sherlock Holmes - are bound to spark something in even the most casual fan of detective stories. The thrill of the chase, clues leading the intrepid character down a specific path, this formula has made the audience's hearts beat faster since Holmes first strode into the imaginations of readers in 1887.RELATED:'Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One' Trailer Reveals Gameplay for Detective Thriller GameBut not every detective is blessed with Holmes' gifts. Some manage to get lucky despite relative incompetence, and others bumble their way through their investigation, often being the last person to know the details. While nowhere near as slick as their sometimes superhuman seeming counterparts, these figures are still fun to watch and perhaps a touch more relatable.

Great: Veronica Mars - Veronica Mars (2004)

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Between Holmes and Hercule Poirot, a particular image of the "gentleman detective" forms for an expectant audience. Bucking this trend by placing the traditional traits of this archetype into the character Veronica Mars, creator Rob Thomas managed to give the well-worn formula an effective kick in the pants - and opened it up to a new generation of fans.

While the "plucky teenage girl" archetype can play as a little grating, Kristen Bell breathes her effortless charm into Mars as she goes from learning investigations from her police officer father to using her natural gifts to solve them before him. Mars made her big-screen debut in 2014, returning to Neptune to investigate a murder allegedly perpetrated by her ex-boyfriend Logan. She is soon embroiled in another high-stakes case as she works toward clearing Logan's name - and exposing corruption in the process.

Awful: James Carter - Rush Hour (1998)

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Carter is not incompetent per se. His rapport with his sources on the ground, as well as his instincts, make him a good detective in some respects. However, his Achilles heel and single most significant flaw is his stubborn refusal to listen to anyone, even if the person has intimate knowledge of the case at hand and the people involved. His sheer arrogance gets him into trouble.

The character's first outing best demonstrates this. In Rush Hour, Carter is handed Lee as a babysitting assignment - and dismisses him on face value. However, Lee doesn't take well to being sidelined and gives Carter the slip more than once to work the case. If Carter had listened to Lee to begin with, they would have solved the case in a much more efficient manner. While the character's appeal is undeniably in his comedy, all he does is delay a little girl's reunion with her father.

Great: Philip Marlowe - The Big Sleep (1946)

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World-weary, cynical Philip Marlowe is perhaps closest to what people see in their minds when they picture the archetypal noir detective. While certainly a keen observational mind, Marlowe's real specialty as a detective lies in people - reading their wants, desires, and actions, asking the right questions (often with the help of a libation or two), and using his knowledge of human nature - as well as his gut - to solve cases.

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Brought to life most famously by the great Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep, Marlowe is grumpy, callous, and occasionally violent. He has walls in place for a reason, but after becoming involved with the Rutledges, those walls begin to come down, exposing the detective's most significant weakness; the femme fatale.

Awful: Inspector John Gadget - Inspector Gadget (1999)

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Johnathan Brown always wanted to be a cop, and after a tragic accident, he was selected to become the first participant in the "Gadget" program. He is outfitted by scientist Brenda with various gadgets, given an AI-controlled car, and sent to solve the case - despite a distinct lack of actual police training.

Inspector Gadget means well, and he's interested in seeing the bad guys behind bars, but he's untrained and incapable of using most of the gadgets he's been given. Most of the time, his niece Penny cracks the case, though she doesn't get the credit she deserves. In the first film, Gadget misses pretty much everything while Penny saves his life and helps him out of jam after jam.

Great: Detective Benoit Blanc - Knives Out (2019)

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For a character with only one film under his belt, the cult following Blanc enjoys is somewhat surprising. After being anonymously employed to investigate the death of Harlan Thrombey, Blanc turns up at the family compound to perform the job he's been hired for - and uncovers plenty of intrigue and long-buried family secrets along the way.

Blanc is a blend of the best tropes of the genius detective. While bright, he is not ruthlessly intelligent like Sherlock, and he doesn't disregard human emotion, as shown in his care for Marta. Nor is he prone to said emotion distracting him from the task at hand, as Marlowe can be. Ultimately this character is an idealistic mix of the best qualities of these detectives, exhibiting few of the flaws. Knives Out 2 will feature Blanc again, but fans may see him taking on a new case.

Awful: Alma Dray - Now You See Me (2013)

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Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent) is presented as a tough, no-nonsense Interpol operative, who teams up with FBI agent Dylan Rhodes after the Crédit Républicain de Paris is the subject of a heist by the four magicians who call themselves the Four Horsemen. These four employ their skills to pull off daring heists in front of both their adoring fans and law enforcement.

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Dray's biggest flaw is that she is entirely too trusting. Teaming up with Rhodes without knowing much about him, their attempts to apprehend the Horsemen always come up short - and Dray is the last person (including the audience) to figure out why. This is despite Rhodes dropping numerous hints that there's a fifth Horseman. If Dray had investigated this even a little, she may have uncovered that this fifth Horseman was Rhodes himself.

Great: Hercule Poirot - Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

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The greatest of Agatha Christie's creations, Hercule Poirot is the epitome of the classical gentleman detective. The trope of gathering all concerned parties in a room and having them listen to a lengthy deduction that ends with the shock reveal that the perpetrator was one of them? Poirot was the originator of it.

Making his cinematic debut way back in 1930, Albert Finney first brought the character to modern audiences with the 1974 version of Murder on the Orient Express, still considered a classic. Various adaptations have followed both on film and television, with the latest being Kenneth Branagh's take on the iconic detective, whose second outing Death on the Nile is out in cinemas now.

Awful: Holland March - The Nice Guys (2016)

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Holland March actually has the potential to be good at his job. The problem is, he's carrying too much baggage and is far too much of a self-saboteur to get out of his own way. He seems to be perpetually a day late and a dollar short, in contrast to his contemporaries who use their skills to be one step ahead of the criminals.

In a lot of ways, March is kind of pathetic, garnering equal parts contempt and begrudging sympathy from the audience as he stumbles through The Nice Guys. His biggest flaw is his alcoholism. Despite claims that he's a functional alcoholic, he has no control over his drinking, and his tendency to fall into a stupor results in him missing plenty - and actively putting the case in jeopardy.

Great: Sherlock Holmes (1939-2015)

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What else needs to be said? Still the original and the best, the brilliant, unflappable British detective is still popular 150 years after his literary debut. Holmes is the archetype, the figure most associated with the detective genre: smart, sophisticated, and always ahead of the game, Holmes uses near-superhuman detective skills to solve his crimes.

From Basil Rathbone in the 1940s through to Robert Downey Jr. in the modern day, Holmes has a long association with the cinema. More than 75 actors have portrayed the character on screen, ranging from his teenage years right through to his time as an old man. After Downey's recent retirement of another pop culture icon, there's been renewed chatter around a third Sherlock Holmes, which has fans excited.

Awful: Inspector Jacques Clouseau - The Pink Panther (1963)

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One of the first "bumbling detectives", Clouseau is foolish, absent-minded, and clumsy. His antics almost always result in the destruction of property, for example when interviewing witnesses he manages to fall down a set of stairs, gets his hand caught in a medieval knight's gauntlet, then a vase; knocks a witness senseless, and destroys a priceless piano. Despite his lack of judgment and skill, Clouseau always solves his cases and finds the correct culprits, often entirely by accident.

Originated by iconic performer Peter Sellers for the original adaptations of popular French cartoon The Pink Panther, Clouseau has been played by numerous actors over the years, including Alan Arkin and Roger Moore. To modern audiences he is perhaps best known for the portrayal by Steve Martin in the modern remakes.

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