Elementarily entertaining!

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2012)

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (2011) *** Robert Downey, Jr, Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Rachel McAdams, Stephen Fry, Kelly Reilly, Eddie Marsan. Highly entertaining installment of the popular franchise with keen observant/savant sleuth extraordinaire Sherlock Holmes (Downey fitting in as if an old pair of shoes) facing his mortal enemy and IQ superior Professor Moriarty (Harris, ideally cast-to-the-hilt) whose nefarious pas de deaux involving an international plot to begin a European war coincides with Holmes' prospects of losing his partner-in-wits-derring-do, Dr.Watson (the always game Law) to his impending nuptials. While filmmaker Guy Ritchie continues to employ the very quickly passÃ© cinematic trick/fetish of slo-mo (the kissing cousin/kiss-of-death to 'bullet time') with up-close and personal edited within-an-inch of the-utmost-mechanics-of-modernized-weaponary-circa-19th century is SO 20th Century filmmaking :D In spite of the over-thrust of its director the lively screenplay by husband and wife team Kieran and Michelle Mulroney incorporates a lot of fun set pieces (i.e. a doozy of a train sequence with hair's-breadth skillfulness) yet wastes the large talents of McAdams and the priceless Marsan. Fry is a hoot as 'Shirl' 's bro (and one of the least likely on screen siblings the likes of real-life brothers Dennis & Randy Quaid are come to think of it!) who loves to be out and a-buff. Elementary, my dear film-goer, Elementary indeed!