The film starts with the bombing of a government building Strasbourg, the latest in a line of bombings in Europe orchestrated by Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris). Linked in with this is Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) who delivers a package to Dr. Hoffmanstahl as payment for a letter. The package is actually an explosive device which is foiled by Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr). Holmes takes the letter from Adler which leads to a confrontation with Moriarty.
Holmes is investigating the bombings and a series of deaths that he believes are connected to Moriarty. However, there is the small matter of Dr Watson (Jude Law) and his wedding to Mary (Kelly Reilly) where Holmes is the best man charged with organising the traditional stag night. Unfortunately as Holmes is so preoccupied with his latest case, the only person he invites is his brother Mycroft (Stephen Fry).
Whilst in the club where the stag night is taking place, Holmes meets the intended recipient of the letter, Simza (Noomi Rapace) who along with her brother Rene were previously members of an anarchist group who, under duress, now work for Moriarty.
The story moves into a typical cat and mouse game between Moriarty and Holmes which leads to an international summit in Switzerland and the full revelation of Moriarty's plans.
I really enjoyed this film, although it does have a couple of issues. The first being that although the fights scenes are brilliantly choreographed and excellently shot, there are far too many of them. I found them to be pointless particularly as their impact on the story is minimal.
The second issue is that there isn't enough sleuthing for my liking. Sherlock Holmes is all about the intellect, about how he solves the mystery. This film seemed to be relying heavily on action rather than intellect which is to the film's detriment.
That said, the positives far out way the negatives. Downey Jr is superb as Holmes, he is making the role his own and he appears to relish the challenges that it brings. The banter and chemistry between him and Law is as strong as ever and is key to the success of the film.
Law is great as Watson as he has to play the straight man. In fact it's the only role that I've enjoyed watching Law play.
Harris was very good as Moriarty and Fry was brilliantly cast as Mycroft, although, I felt that maybe I saw a little too much of him...
However, I wasn't that impressed with the character of Simza - not particularly interesting or enlightening, I would have preferred to have had a bit more backstory on her character.
Despite my reservations about the number of fight scenes, they are beautifully constructed and the attention to detail is fantastic.
Verdict: A high-voltage and entertaining thriller with superb performances from Downey Jr, Harris and Fry. The story is a little convoluted, but the film is fast paced and has absolutely no lulls whatsoever. The only criticisms are the number of pointless fight scenes and the weak female lead. Thoroughly enjoyable otherwise, bring on the third instalment.
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