Certainly worth watching for pure enjoyment that beats the last movie to death

Rating: 10/10 (25 December 2011)

I speak for allot of people when i say how long we have been waiting for a number 2 after the good work done by number 1. Number 2, a game of shadows is certainly worth the wait, despite the trailer looking a little bit of a step down. First the plot. The story carries on from the cliffhanger at the end of the first, when Moriarty, a mysterious man with a concealed face, steals a weapon at the end and Sherlock ends with the lines "Case reopened." This sets this one up with homes practically devoted to finding out what he is up to and, of coarse Watson becomes involved and they end up travelling across Europe on the brink of a war between France and Germany. Its a step up from the last which was more about England and England alone. The hole of the western world is now in consideration. How this works with the character of Holmes is better than what i thought and this effects the plot in a significant way. Moriarty is a weapons dealer and so on but has friends in high places. ALLOt of high places so a war is in his interests and Holmes thinks he is the one who caused a series of explosions that, of coarse, France blames Germany for and vice verca. the whole mechanics behind this and how Holmes figures each step out is brilliant and, when he isn't doing that, hes getting into a fight or two. The slow down moments where Holmes devises his enemies take down has adapted to be better and way more flashy and there's allot of slowdowns in the action, maybe too much at points and you just want it to get on with it, but when it works, it is proper quality and makes it unique to any other movie. Seeing individual bullets slowly whizz past, breaking up trees and skimming clothes is great. There's great use of CGI and that really helps with some situations that i wouldn't imagine fitted with sherlock Holmes, but it does and it does it well. The plot is interesting and keeps you watching, but its the whole Holmes-Watson relationship which really keeps the humour and plot moving. Also, Mary also returns as a slightly more significant character, as does Eirine as a slightly pointless character that should of just been left and Lestrade as my favourite character with only one line. The last two should of been in it more as how good they were in the first, though this still is good without them playing that much of a part in it. What makes it also brilliant (without spoilers) is that the ending sequence with the plot isn't about action. There's no big fight (that actually happened, anyway) but the mechanic, the use of a chess game, the use of what was thought pointless moments of the movie actually being very significant is brilliant and ends great. There is a reason to be sad at the end however, so bring a tissue