A more than decent sequel to a ripper of an original

Rating: 7/10 (10 January 2012)

The last couple of years have given moviegoers a mixed bag of modernised Hollywood revivals of classic franchises: some pleasing hits – The Adventures of Tintin, The Muppets – and quite a few ill-received misses – The Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks. So it is a pleasure to kick of the year with a fine sequel to what is perhaps the most successful of these adaptations, along with Steven Moffatt's inspired BBC television series Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Old- fashioned slick and smart plot developments and the traditional period English setting are skilfully blended in with the high-tail action scenes of today's summer blockbusters. Its appeal to both laidback and serious cinema audiences will surely continue to generate the promising commercial success that it has been enjoying thus far. On this outing, the novel mysticism of the menacing Lord Blackwood has been left behind, and the old eroticism of the slippery Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) is present only briefly as more elements of the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are introduced. Stephen Fry makes a delightful entrance into the series as the irrepressible detective's brother Mycroft. Usually there is an awkward rivalry between the two, where Holmes is frustrated by his brother possessing superior intellect and wasting it with his laziness, but here they are mostly very co-operative allies. The villain of the piece is a very familiar figure, the unbeatable Professor James Moriarty, but he has also changed. While in this film, as always, he is described as being faceless and consistently elusive, his pompous countenance is revealed within the first half hour. What's more, Jared Harris doesn't play him with nearly as much wicked relish as his predecessors; Guy Ritchie doesn't seem to want us to view him as a diabolical mastermind, but more a neat personification of the inevitable corruption and conflict present in modern society.
However, the overall film is far from dulled down and certainly not as restrained as might be suggested from those aforementioned characterisations. The outlandish escapism is partly given in by the spectacularly gripping and often humorous action sequences. Chaotic explosions certainly abound, against a variety of backdrops, including a stirring performance of Mozart's famed opera Don Giovanni and an exhilarating chase through the woods that has spiky wood splinters zooming in every direction. Early on, there is also the classic comical assassin evasion, involving the enigmatic gypsy Madame Simza (Noomi Rampace from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). The other half is of course given by Robert Downey Jr.'s reprisal of another typically erratic role, but this is one of his better excursions of eccentricity. Jude law puts in some fine work also as Holmes' much more sensible and long-suffering roommate and associate Dr John Watson, who exhibits a deeper maturity as he prepares seriously for a marriage to his equally sober girlfriend (Geraldine James).
Much lighter this time, yet filled with a stronger sense of doom and danger than the first film, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows might not bring anything terribly new to the table, but it presents its familiar yet reliable products with fine gusto, and aptly manages to keep its audience engaged and energised throughout its sizeable two hour duration, a time that can be treacherously difficult to sustain interest with.