Robert Downey Jr. has been riding high for the past few years on the successes of Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes. He has become a "character" actor in that he brings credibility to these larger than life characters on screen. So successful has he become in these roles that it is forgotten that he is an award-nominated actor for his role in Chaplin. He has strong acting credentials which would indicate he could do more than play the gimmicky roles. His return as Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is another gimmicky role.
This time out, Holmes and his partner Watson (Jude Law) take on their evil nemesis Moriarty (Jared Harris). This requires them to enlist the assistance of a gypsy fortune teller named Sim (Noomi Rapace). It also requires them to travel to various locales to track down Moriarty and his evil doing.
The excitement of their adventure is on display at all times but somehow not all the excitement is exciting. Sometimes in the middle of their pursuit, things seem to bog down. There may be explosions and gunfights going on but the audience is not always engaged. This has something to do with the script by Kieran and Michele Mulroney. It never brings the characters to life as much as the first movie did. Here, they are just action figures involved in a semi-interesting plot.
Maybe the movie would have been helped by more involvement of the female members of the cast. Rachel McAdams is the first person viewed on screen and then she soon leaves the story. Kelly Reilly who plays Mary Watson was delightful in the first film but is hardly seen or heard from in this one. Then there is poor Noomi Rapace. This exotic and inherently interesting actress is sorely underused in this movie.
Downey and Law still have fun with the repartee between their characters but the genuine affection between the two men is missing. Best friends in the first film, they now appear as casual acquaintances.
The story is set in London in the late 19th century yet there is talk of plastic surgery, contact lenses and other seemingly "not invented yet" occurrences. Maybe there were procedures of this type but they don't ring true. Too there is a "how is he still alive" portion of the story that sours the reality of the film.
The movie is rated PG-13 for violence and profanity.
Even when they are not at their best, Downey and Law are still enjoyable actors -- and the underused Rapace is so unique as to still be an asset for the film. So there are pluses to this sequel.
Taking all of this into consideration I scored Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows a checkmate: six out of 10.