Everything That Worked in it's Predecessor is Thrown Out and Made More Generic

Rating: 6/10 (26 June 2012)

I was really excited to see "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows". I highly enjoyed the first film, and with Guy Ritchie returning to direct, and the addition of Jared Harris playing Professor James Moriarty joining the stellar cast, I had little doubt that 'Game of Shadows' would blow me away as much as the first film had. And then the trailer came out, and the doubt started to form. Robert Downey Jr. creepily cross dressing, giant gun fights, and recycled jokes made me worriful that the movie may fall where the first film excelled. Sadly, I was right.
Watson has now moved out of 221B Baker Street, and Sherlock has become obsessed with linking evidence to the infinite web of crimes Moriarty is behind. Now, when a single clue reveals itself to Holmes, he embarks on a determined endeavour to take down his arch-nemesis once and for all. It's hard to explain the plot because some of the main plot points happen for no reason, so it's difficult to even write a proper synopsis. Seriously, things happen at random in this movie. Like within the first 5 minutes the most enraging, lame, and downright stupidest move the writers made happens for almost no reason.
All main cast members return from the first film. Robert Downey Jr. is back as Sherlock Holmes, and as before, he's great. He is completely into this role and you believe him. What is really great in this movie is Sherlock vs. Moriarty, and this is really where Robert Downey Jr.'s acting in this movie flourishes. He gets really confident and serious, and you're just thinking "it's going down".
Jude Law is perfect as Watson. I think I prefer Jude Law's Watson to Martin Freeman's Watson. But the two adaptations are set in different time periods, so I think Jude Law is the perfect Watson for the 1800's, and Martin Freeman is the perfect Watson for the 21'st Century. But Jude Law's Watson is perfect with the smart-ass remarks. He is totally Sherlock's backup and he hates it, but he accepts that and he deals with it, and it makes for some great comedy.
Jared Harris is good as Moriarty. His first appearance on the screen, you know that he is in control. He's very calm, very smart, and menacing. The only thing I wish had been different about him is the actor. While Jared Harris is pretty good, I really wanted someone younger than or as old as Sherlock. That would be a great parallel for Holmes to deal with, but instead he's like sixty years old. This really sucks because I loved the Moriarty in the first "Sherlock Holmes". He was young, skinny, very threatening, and had this seriously scary voice. But now he's just this normal, heavy-set, old guy.
The fights in this movie suck. You may remember in the first "Sherlock Holmes", a lot of the fighting was hand to hand, and I loved that aspect. In this movie, we get like two fisticuff scenes and then the rest is gunplay. I hated that; don't make the action just generic slow motion bullet fests. That's my main gripe with this movie is it feels like someone wrote an 18th Century action film and just added in Sherlock Holmes at the last minute. I know that's not what happened, but that's what it feels like.
The major thing that sucks about the Guy Ritchie movies is that after watching BBC's "Sherlock" series, everything else seems second place. Everything that is done in the Guy Ritchie films, the BBC series does better, which makes enjoying the Ritchie films difficult because you're constantly comparing to something much better.
I will personally not be buying this movie. I'd only get this movie if it was like a $5 movie in the bargain bin. I heard a lot of other people say they liked it, so I'm not saying everyone will hate it, but I did. And isn't that the point of a review, to state your opinion? So I did not like "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows", but you might so at least rent it or borrow it off a buddy. Who knows how you'll feel?