Not the best of Holmes, but a great action movie

Rating: 8/10 (2 January 2012)

After seeing the trailers of the original Sherlock Holmes, it was with much trepidation that I watched the film. Holmes is supposed to be an intelligent man, extremely refined and gentlemanly, with an air of dismissive irreverence towards social norms. I wasn't sure if Robert Downey Jr's macho portrayal of Holmes would do justice to the character, nor was I convinced that Guy Ritchie's action-oriented approach would suit the persona of the world's greatest deductive detective. But I was pleasantly surprised by the movie nonetheless, with the intelligence of Holmes deductions a bit of a delight. Needless to say, I was looking forward to the sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.
If you're a fan of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, this movie won't appeal to you too much. If anything, it's even more of an action movie than a game of wits. The clever deductions that are so typical of Mr Holmes have been replaced instead by cinematography of the ilk of that fight scene from the first movie.
But if you forget the fact that this is a Sherlock Holmes story, then A Game of Shadows is a very good movie. It's all about Holmes' anticipation and Ritchie's special effects and excellent non-stop action instead. Go in without any bias and you will enjoy this movie.
The characters of Holmes and Watson are pretty much par for the course, and Downey Jr and Law pick up from where they left off in the last movie. The character of James Moriarty is weak. While he's portrayed as being an evil genius, I needed to be convinced of his genius more through the plot's narration than through the actions of the character on screen. I have no complaints with the acting of Jared Harris, though, whose expressions and overall acting were top-notch.
I must mention Stephen Fry, who plays the role of Sherlock's brother, Mycroft Holmes. Fry is absolutely fantastic in this role, completely captivating the audience in every scene in which he's present—never overacting or underacting.
Final Verdict—All put together, this is a good movie, if you can forgive the change in Holmes' powers of deduction and general method of doing things. It's not terribly clever, but it keeps you hooked with quality entertainment for the entire duration.