if you liked the first, you'll like the 2nd even more

Rating: Null/10 (2 February 2012)

A sequel should give viewers more of what they enjoyed from the first, less of what they didn't and add a few twists and turns to change things up a bit to keep you on edge.
The style is the same as the first (same director after all), the witty repartee between Holmes and his sidekick Watson remains sharp as ever. But it's the introduction of Moriarty gives the film real life. He's the opponent that Holmes needs to truly shine, a genius on the side of evil versus a genius (albeit eccentrically so) on the good.
The storyline has plot holes that I won't go into to too much here. But the weakest points of the film have to do with the actual mystery itself and connecting the dots between the gypsy brother and Moriarty. Noomi Rapace got a lot of screen time but didn't have much to do or say. She seemed to be getting in the way of the budding bro-mance between Holmes & Watson much like Mary Watson's character. In some ways, the role of the gypsy fortune teller really didn't need to be so prominent at all.
The strength of the film is the fast paced action, the interplay between the characters, and the charisma shown by Law, Downey Jr and Jared Harris. It's a light-hearted, yet intriguing and suspenseful movie, so entertaining that it made me forgive its obvious flaws.
9/10