Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Rachel McAdams
Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Paul Anderson, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly
Certificate: 12A
Synopsis: Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson join forces with gypsy Madam Simza to outwit and bring down their fiercest adversary, Professor James Moriarty.
Over the years Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic creation Sherlock Holmes has been adapted countless times. Growing up I watched with my father on sunday afternoons, both the great Basil Rathbone’s smokey gothic-style incarnation, and Jeremy Brett’s long-running television take. Even Disney got in on the act with their own animated-inspired BASIL: THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE and as much as I love Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, the less said about their comic take on arguably Homes’ most famous adventure THE HOUND OF THE BASKEVILLES, the better. That’s also not forgetting the current BBC hit show SHERLOCK starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as a modern day Holmes and Watson.
Which brings me to 2009′s SHERLOCK HOLMES starring Robert Downey Jr. as Baker Streets finest. I was hesitant to say the least when the project was first announced, a director famed for gritty Brit gangster films (albeit ones with a lot of humour in them), Guy Ritchie on one hand seemed a strange choice to helm a new reboot of Holmes, but then again who better to bring to the big-screen, the great London sleuth, than a ‘cockney’ to capture the spirit and times of the character and location. SHERLOCK HOLMES was a smash hit both commercially and critically and I for one, had a blast watching Downey Jr. and Jude Law (as loyal partner Dr. Watson) team up to thwart a devious plot involving Mark Strong’s Lord Blackwood. The final scene set up the possible further exploits, with Holmes’ equally iconic criminal mastermind and nemesis Moriarty.
Sequel time, and SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS is as bold and brilliant as the original and fans wanting more of the same will get just that, and then some. Downey Jr. is again given free reign as the super smart but unorthodox detective, this time obsessed with whom he sees and the evil genius behind a series of assassinations and bombings in Europe, Professor James Moriarty. Of course along for the ride once more is trusted put-upon friend John Watson, which is the least thing Watson wants when he is about to marry his sweetheart Mary played by EDEN LAKE’s Kelly Reilly.
New characters, played by Noomi Rapace and Paul Anderson, add great support and of course British National Treasure Stephen Fry as Holmes brother Mycroft is a hoot. However this sequel is given greater substance by the presence of Jared Harris as the dastardly Moriarty. The actor is superb as the criminal mastermind and is perfect foil for Downey Jr. You can see the actor relishes playing the villain and eats up the scenery whenever on screen, without going over-the-top and hamming it up.
Fans of the previous film will – and should – flock to see this sequel. The film has more than enough action sequences and explosions thrown in amongst the plot to rival a Bond or Bourne adventure. The lovely Rachel McAdams returns again (unfortunately only too briefly) and the great Eddie Marsan, who was a highlight in the original, is wasted and barely noticeable in this follow-up, which is a shame. Its not a perfect film but it does what it does well and is a very worthy sequel to the unexpected blockbuster hit from two years ago.
Great fun and more of the same for fans of the iconic detective, which isn’t a bad thing with Downey Jr. in the lead.
SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS is released today in cinemas
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