"People have an innate desire for conflict."

Sherlock Holmes:  A Game of Shadows

This film is pretty much more of the same. Those who enjoyed the first Sherlock Holmes will likely enjoy this as well, with its wild visual flair, its explosive action scenes, and its amusing chemistry between the two leading characters (plus, some added chemistry with the villain). Those who didn’t like all this probably won’t like this sequel either.

You can definitely expect action in this film; there are plenty of fight scenes, some wild gunfighting, and a lot of stylish slow-motion scenes. I think it’s all pretty darn cool, but chances are that all this emphasis on style and action will be off-putting for many folks.

As far as the story goes, it’s a little disappointing to see that it’s very linear, with none of the mystery or intrigue that went into the first film (and all the classic stories). It works as a straightforward actioner, but not so much as a mystery. In fact, it reminds me a lot of Tomorrow Never Dies. Fortunately, the story continues to put the emphasis on the characters; Sherlock Holmes is as manic and ingenious as before, if not moreso, while Watson continues to serve as a quality foil character. What will really make this story worthwhile will be the revealing and exploration of Moriarty, whose intellect matches Sherlock’s, and causes the two to become entangled in a form of intellectual mortal combat (which takes on a literal interpretation in the film). It’s generally fun and satisfying, but still leaves a lot of room for further exploration (I’m assuming a third film will come along and form this into a cohesive trilogy).

Cinematically, it has much the same style as the first film. It’s very stylish with lots of interesting camera angles and trickery, and interesting editing. Acting is still very strong, with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law reprising their roles impeccably. Jared Harris plays Moriarty like a classic megalomaniac villain (which is good). I rather enjoyed watching Noomi Rapace in her role. Writing is about as strong as the first film. This production has an insane amount of quality sets, props, and costumes, with quality special effects. Music is still very folky (and it’s good that way).

Recommended only if you liked the first film.

4/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 3.5/5, film: 4.5/5)