OK sequel benefits from a terrific villain to match wits with Holmes

Rating: 7/10 (29 January 2015)

"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" is not as good as the first film in the series, but it does benefit from an interesting villain. Don't underestimate how important that is to this kind of movie; when you have a hero that's as smart as ol' Holmes, you better have someone that he can match wits with or the whole thing will be a snooze-fest as you wait for this lamo to get trounced by the world's greatest detective. If anything, I was disappointed that these adversaries didn't get to share more screen time. The second half is interesting and well crafted enough to keep the audience entertained though, so it more than redeems itself for me. It's unfortunate that the detective work and mystery play second fiddle to some of the action scenes and humor sequences, and I felt that some of the revelations and plot twists were way over the top, but overall it's enjoyable. I actually feel like I'm being way too harsh on it, I just happened to have really high hopes considering how fresh and intelligent the first installment was. (Theatrical version on the big screen, January 2012)