It's interesting watching these films in reverse order.

Rating: 6/10 (10 February 2020)

I can see now how A Game of Shadows would have been a disappointment, a more hollow shell, paying off none of the nuances and plot lines built up in the first entry in favour of a poppy, zippy, slight action thriller. This first film is actually surprisingly funny, the RDJ/Jude Law witty repartee is completely enjoyable and both parties are genuinely enjoying themselves and giving their all. It's a messier film, in a good way, it looks messier and RDJ plays a pleasurable bellend. Ritchie for all his flaws can manufacture a competently enjoyable blockbuster with enough visual wit and clarity and there aren't too many memorable steampunky Victorian action comedies so this stands out significantly.
I'm not a fan of the occult plot and en vogue Mark Strong sinister moustache twirling villain, but it seems suitably Conan-Doyle-esque and on rewatching it, it seems to be a fitting backdrop to the reinvention of these famous characters.
Little quirks like Holmes' kit bag, his sensible combat style and Watson's appropriately Victorian postmortem skills, are all fun little moments in a story about the end of a friendship, which is a natty place to start a franchise.
I find it a movie with much more legs than I did the first few times I watched it. It's not perfect but it is well put together with some nice details and some actual care and attention.