Music, Style & Culture

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows

At least Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law can never be accused of going through the motions in this sequel.

Released in cinemas 16th December 2011.

The hugely enjoyable 2009 high-octane Sherlock Holmes revitalised Guy Ritchie's career and solidified Robert Downey Jr's comeback as a charming rogue and bona fide action hero. With Dr Watson, the already impeccable Jude Law didn't do too badly either, as the endearing straight man to Holmes' louche braniac.

In the rich, stylised and witty take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective Ritchie struck a goldmine with Downey Jr and Law's scorching on-screen chemistry, and, for the follow-up, seems content to milk it for every penny.

In A Game of Shadows, the prickly bromance is ramped up - sometimes to endearing, mainly to forced, effect. Watson is soon to wed Kelly Reilly's long-suffering Mary, with a sulky Holmes arranging the most rubbish stag night. The detective has ulterior motives - he's investigating mysterious deaths and terrorist bombings throughout Europe, and all his clues lead back to the nefarious intellectual Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), the only man who could outsmart Holmes.

A vital clue is gypsy fortune teller Simza, a character only notable for being the first English-speaking role for original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo star Noomi Rapace. Simza may accompany the pair on their adventures, and is certainly handy with a weapon, but the script woefully denies her a background, decent dialogue or an arc, leaving her serving solely as a plot device. Rachel McAdams briefly returns as Irene Adler, ironically having more to do in her extended cameo than in the first film. Elsewhere there's Stephen Fry's small role as Sherlock's wiser, older brother Mycroft, with the comic actor and presenter subject to some surprisingly lowbrow humour (think nudity).

Storywise, it's all a bit incoherent until coming together with a curious lack of tension in a finale set in Switzerland's Reichenbach Falls; the lack of brain teasers dull the storyline (which nicely echoes Downey Jr's Iron Man). The mood is sombered by Holmes being nowhere near as rakish and wild as the first film - in fact it's Law who gets to have more fun.

Despite the script limitations, at least Downey Jr and Law can never, ever be accused of going through the motions in this sequel. The pair's infectious charm and genuine affection is a treat, and while Harris doesn't make for an intimidating powerhouse of a villain, he is certainly intriguing as the sociopathic intellectual.

The set pieces are largely unmemorable, but at least are filmed with Ritchie's dazzling vision (particularly in a bullet-ridden forest). The slo-mo trick of Holmes anticipating his attacker's next moves is over-cooked, but a spectacular battle on a train is the film's highlight. In one glorious extended sequence, there's more humour and ingenuity than in the entire film, with Holmes and Watson bickering and blustering through an absurdly brilliant and colourful shoot-out, briskly scored by Hans Zimmer on his usual good form. It rightly sums up Ritchie's re-invention of Sherlock as a riotous, risqué bundle of fun.

Rating: 7/10