The question this week will not be should I see Sherlock Holmes a Game Of Shadows, it will be how many times will I see Sherlock Holmes a Game Of Shadows?

I had extremely high expectations for this movie, I loved the first I seen it in the theater 3 times. I bought the Blu-Ray at midnight watched it twice in the same day. I mean I loved it so imagine my delight when not only is the sequel worthy of the first, it surpasses it. And surpasses it by far, this film is no minor feat for director Guy Ritchie and stars Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.  It was a mere 2 years ago people were saying Guy could never make a mass Appealing movie it was a little over a year ago people were saying RDJ could not make a good sequel, after Iron Man 2 who could blame them. And less than 6 months ago people were saying Jude who? Well Jude Law that’s who, I have no doubt this film will help get Jude Law back into leading man status. The name I have yet to mention is the name most deserving of credit Jared Harris not only does he go head to head with Sherlock as James Moriarty he goes head to head with RDJ in acting terms.

When these 2 men on are on screen together (RDJ Jared Harris) not only do you believe they respect each other you feel the fear they both have for one another. You see it in their eyes and movements, they both think they have the upper hand, but they know that could easily change with the tiniest of slips. Watching them walk on egg shells for the first few minutes of their first meeting, then seeing them come to terms with each other in the same meeting is just amazing.  

The film begins right after the events of the first, Sherlock is on the trail of his lady love Irene Adler played by the returning Rachel McAdams. This time she gets the best of Sherlock but not for long, this leads to the first action scene of the film and it’s here you know Guy Richie really stepped it up. Sherlock Still goes into his ZONE planning how the fight will go, picking his last move before the first move has been made. But this time the scale is bigger the camera work is much more intense, and the stakes are much higher.

The great thing about this ZONE that Sherlock enters is that he is not the only one who has the mental ability to access it. I will go out on a limb and say in my opinion the final fight between Moriarty and Holmes, tops anything from the Matrix films. Maybe that’s because I care much more about these characters than I did those maybe because those character were CGI during the fights. But just maybe because, Guy Richie, RDJ and Jared Harris crafted a film with such a flow that by the end of it my mind was fully stimulated and not half a sleep.

I also have to say the addition of Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes Sherlock’s gay, smarter older brother is very much welcome. They never actually say he is gay but it’s pretty clear to the audience he is gay, the thing that makes this character work is that he is not a forced addition. He is used in ways that makes sense for him to be used, and he’s a wonderful addition to the film.

If you put a gun to my head and made me complain about this movie my one fault would be not seeing the remote from the first film. I mean Moriarty went to so much trouble in the first film to get a hold of the remote, I would have liked to have seen it play a role in this film. It could have been used in the movie and was so subtle I did not notice but if that is the case I would have liked it be more prominent.

Bottom line is this is the best holiday movie this year period, not only does it look good and sound good but it feels good