Robert Downey Jr. returns in his Golden Globe winning portrayal of the meticulous detective Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.” Accompanied by his loyal partner, Dr. John Watson (Jude Law), they both must bring down their most dangerous opponent yet – Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris). When in 1891, the world had an extreme fear of anarchists threatening Western civilization, Holmes and Watson are under more pressure to defeat Moriarty in a timely fashion.
Rachel McAdams and Eddie Marsan also reprise their roles of Irene Adler and Inspector Lestrade, respectively. Joining the cast are Noomi Rapace (“The Millennium Trilogy”) and Stephen Fry, playing Sherlock’s brother Mycroft Holmes. The Holmes brothers and Watson embark on a journey to figure out the clues leading up to the final conflict with these interesting characters emerging along the way. There are also changing aspects of the “Sherlock Holmes” story with Watson getting married to Mary Morstan from the first film (Kelly Reilly).
This threatens Watson’s indulgence to Holmes’ endeavors, he instead begins to look forward to a life of settling down. The film turns out to be the exact opposite, it has more action, more fight sequences, and more suspense than in the first film. “Game of Shadows” takes the Sherlock Holmes story to an all new level that is very enjoyable, with the flair of awesome cinematography, beautiful locations and spot-on art direction. Hans Zimmer returns to compose the original score that is incredibly fitting in setting the mood for the world of Sherlock Holmes.
The stakes are at their highest in this latest film by Ritchie with Holmes, if a third one were to be made it’s hard to think it could have a more dangerous adversary than in this film. Professor Moriarty is almost the evil version of Sherlock Holmes, just as witty and dangerous. The biggest question throughout the film is whether or not Holmes will be able to defeat Moriarty at his own game. Various disguises as well as the keen insight of Sherlock Holmes will determine the fate of them both.
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” is the paragon of what should be expected in these Sherlock Holmes films, as opposed to the first one in this series. Although this latest film isn’t as successful at the box office, the quality reigns supreme. Fans of the first film will love the second and will look forward to a hopeful third installment after Ritchie’s next film which should be released some time next year.
