Downey Jr. Runs Riot

Rating: 8/10 (1 July 2013)

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
***1/2 (out of 4)
123 mins/ 12
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris, Noomi Rapace, Rachel McAdams, Kelly Reilly, Stephen Fry, Eddie Marsan
Director: Guy Ritchie
Plot: Sherlock Holmes enters a game of shadows with Professor John Moriarty, who is trying to start war between France and Germany, while profiting in the process.
JJ's Verdict: What I love about this sequel to the hit film, 'Sherlock Holmes', is that it has the perfect balance between action, comedy and drama. The action is quick, no-nonsense and takes your breath away while also being fun and exciting.
The film's bullet effects are breathtaking and not too dissimilar to the ones used in 'The Matrix.' The entire film is full of clever sound mixing and editing. The score used throughout the film is very playful and catchy which adds to the 'not taking it too seriously effect.' The whole film's Victorian set-up is once again spot on for a certain detective to mess around in. That is Downey Jr. 's Sherlock Holmes. RDJ is absolutely brilliant and the little situations his character gets into are absolutely laugh-out-loud. The whole film was written just to let him run riot with his incredible style of comedy acting. He also shows Holmes' more serious side as we see that even the most perfect men can get things wrong, after he witnesses a bomb attack he could have stopped.
Jared Harris is chilling as Moriarty, while Noomi Rapace is good but her character has little effect on you, as a viewer. Jude Law provides the serious delivery of lines but is certainly likable as ever. New to most Americans, is Stephen Fry who plays Holmes' brother, Mycroft. The timing of his lines are perfect as ever with his irresistible dry wit. The fact that he calls his brother 'Shirley' and is physically superior to him, only causes for more enjoyment.
The plot (as described above) is surprisingly a little thin, you only realise what is really happening until the second half of the film and it gets a little too politely global for Sherlock Holmes. However, these faults are second to the brilliant enjoyment of a film that finishes as it starts; intense, suspenseful and hilarious.