Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Ham and eggs, salt and pepper, Holmes and Watson. Some things just naturally go together. Yes, our intrepid tag team is back to a sooty, soiled London, with ever more outrageous plots and counter-plots, wry asides, hairbreadth escapes and goofy disguises. Once again we see Holmes' slow-motion mental preview for the next bout of fisticuffs before we see it unfold with blinding speed, exactly as planned.

This time Professor Moriarty makes his debut in this series, so we're talking world domination here, not just Jolly Old England. Naturally we recognize faces from the 2009 film and the audience laughs when they appear.

Once again Guy Ritchie ("Sherlock Holmes") directs:

• Robert Downey Jr ("Iron Man") returns as our dauntless detective, doing his darnedest to derail that infernal wedding! (...and save the world.)
  
• Jude Law ("Hugo") is, once again, his faithful sidekick, Dr. John Watson, who is Holmes' equal in every way, it's just that he wants to get married.
  
• Noomie Rapace ("The Millennium Trilogy") introduces Sim, an ingenious fortune-telling gypsy, trying to locate her brother.
  
• Rachel McAdams ("Midnight in Paris") returns as Irene Adler, an important woman in Holmes' life.
  
• Jared Harris ("The Ward") is Professor Moriarty, one of fiction's best nemeses. He and Holmes share a mutual admiration for each other that adds to the fun.
  

Sometimes things just get too, too cute, and the "bromance" between Holmes and Watson has them dancing together, almost kissing, and Holmes is clearly jealous when faced with the idea of Watson getting married. How would Sir Arthur Conan Doyle feel about this? I'm just sayin'...

Personally, I appreciate the women in this series: they don't trip while running in the forest or need a strong man to save them, we find them serious, resourceful and focused. Of course with this being a Guy Ritchie film, they also know martial arts!

Remember, we're talking world domination, so you may expect gunshots and some blowie uppie stuff; for the most part, this 129-minute PG-13 comedy keeps us entertained and we never have to cover our eyes. Whew!

But this is another one where you absolutely MUST suspend disbelief! That's elementary, my dear....smile...

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This preview is a little over 2 minutes:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1860541977/
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