Great Performances, great writing, and a better story make this worth the watch

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2011)

In 2009 Sherlock Holmes became a break out hit making over half a billion dollars and successfully brought the brand into the mainstream blockbuster film community making both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson both known to the average film goer and relevant to modern cinema. While the movie's story and concept themselves didn't boast anything new or above average, the movie did boast lightning in a bottle chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as the leads as well as the very cool and stylized take on late 19th century England from director Guy Ritchie. Because of the chemistry and the style Sherlock Holmes was able to be successful with audiences as well as critics which now brings us to the inevitable sequel A Game of Shadows. While Shadows doesn't have as much to prove as its predecessor it certainly had a whole new set of problems to deal with; the biggest being just another sequel that tries so hard to recapture the original, but ultimately failing like so many other sequels out there. The movie does return with the entire original cast and the marvelous Jared Harris joins the cast as Holm's greatest foe Prof. Simon Moriarty. Is this sequel worth a look or is doe it join the sea of forgettable sequels that just can't live up to the originals?
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