As Sherlock Holmes’s famous quote regarding his legendary powers of deductive reasoning goes: “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the best way to punch the shit out of a guy.” When “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” begins, our hero (Robert Downey, Jr.) has already determined that the mysterious bombing that opens the film is the work of the nefarious Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), commencing a scheme to begin a global war from which he can massively profit. Moriarty already owns all the weapons factories, cotton mills and grain suppliers, now he just needs to create the demand. He’s a Victorian-era Halliburton. All that remains is for Holmes to track down this villain. Which he does, about 20 minutes after the opening titles. That’s because Sherlock Holmes isn’t a detective anymore—he’s an action hero. And this film is in such a great hurry to get to the next fight or chase scene that it substitutes the solving of a mystery with plot-hustling exposition. In between action sequences, Holmes glibly, sarcastically details the methods and results of his investigations, nearly all of which occur either off-camera or in flashback.

Is this necessarily a bad thing? It’s certainly clunky, but frankly Downey and Jude Law as Watson rescue it with a kind of a shaggy Riggs & Murtaugh chemistry: Holmes is a genius but potentially dangerously insane, Watson just wants to go home to his lovely, accommodating wife. You don’t watch a 'Lethal Weapon' movie for the complicated mystery, but mainly for the action scenes and the funny jokes. It’s also not a coincidence that Joel Silver produced both 'Holmes' films and all of the 'Lethal's. (And if that’s what this 'Sherlock Holmes' is going to be—a sort of amiable, handsome, retro buddy-cop riff—then so be it. Your personal enjoyment of it seems destined to hinge on whether or not you consider that a failure of the material.) The action sequences also happen to be among Ritchie’s strongest to date, often jumping back momentarily through time to explain some ingenious, improvised booby trap Holmes has laid before returning to the present just as it’s tripped. Possibly Ritchie does this to lengthen the action beats into long sequences, possibly he just thinks it’s cooler (or both). He also indulges in a lot of that slow-fast-slow thing that some viewers will find irritating. Personally, the sight of a speed-ramping mortar shell splintering trees and sailing inches from a guy’s head was pretty arresting.

==Written by Matt Lynch==

==From: In Review Online (www.inreviewonline.com)==

Director Guy Ritchie is well known for his lower budget crime flicks, so many people like myself were surprised to hear when he began working on the latest rendition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Not only would this period piece be a stray for Ritchie from the modern crime scene, but once the cast was released this film had blockbuster franchise written all over it. Needless to say, Ritchie delivered on the final product. What’s most surprising about this epic mystery thriller is that Ritchie manages to preserve his signature style of great action sequences and his ability to draw astounding performances from his actors with classic characters and glorious special effects.

The dynamic duo of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law make the perfect Holmes and Dr. Watson. Downey Jr. is a perfect Sherlock and his on-screen chemistry with Law’s Watson is unrivaled. Rachel McAdams as the love interest of Holmes was equally funny as she is gorgeous and I believe this quasi-romance angle of the film added depth to the story and Holmes’ life. The cinematography really is a thing of beauty; the slow motion fight scenes and emphasis on Holmes’ deductive observations especially add insight to Holmes’ inner monologue and bring life to his methodology. A film like this is destined to be another franchise, but certainly one of enormous stature that will also surely bring to life Doyle’s classic literature.

==Written by Nicolas ==

==From: Critic Nic (www.criticnic.com)==

Guy Ritchie (Snatch, RocknRolla) attempts to reinvent one of the world's most iconic literary figures as an action hero in this brawny, visually arresting period adventure. Robert Downey Jr. is an intriguing choice for the Great Detective, and if he occasionally murmurs his lines a pitch or two out of hearing range, his trademark bristling energy and off-kilter humor do much to sell Ritchie's notion of Holmes. Jude Law is equally well-equipped as a more active Dr. Watson--he's closer to Robert Duvall's vigorous portrayal in The Seven Per-Cent Solution than to Nigel Bruce--and together, they make for an engaging team. Too bad the plot they're thrust into is such a mess--a bustling and disorganized flurry of martial arts, black magic, and overwhelming set pieces centered around Mark Strong's Crowley-esque cult leader (no Professor Moriarty, he), who returns from the grave to exact revenge. Downey and Law's amped-up Holmes and Watson are built for the challenge of riding this roller coaster with the audience; however, Rachel McAdams as Holmes's love interest, Irene Adler (here a markedly different character than the one in Arthur Conan Doyle's "A Scandal in Bohemia"), and Kelly Reilly as Mary Morstan, the future Mrs. Watson, are cast to the wind in the wake of Ritchie's hurricane pace. One can imagine this not sitting well with ardent Sherlockians; all others may find this Sherlock Holmes marvelous if calorie-free popcorn entertainment, with the CGI rendering of Victorian-era London particularly appealing eye candy. --Paul Gaita