Sherlock Holmes(2009)- User Reviews

Few movies are surpassed by their sequels (off the top of my head, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is the only one I can think of), but Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows may be a runner-up. The acting remains as exceptional as the first with the garnishing of a few new faces. The plot itself is in fact better than the first in that Holmes is facing his ultimate challenge, a character straight from Doyle's mind, Prof. Moriarity (rather than in the first movie in which Lord Blackwood was at least partially conceived by Ritchie.) More of the sequel is reflective of Doyle's writings, yet Ritchie makes it is own with artistic scenery and unique film techniques (watch the "forest scene" and you'll get what I mean.)
The film continues to impress with its slew of new characters, such as Jared Harris, who portrays a diabolical genius as suitable to the Victorian era, Noomi Rapace, who plays an approachable woman with a believable amount of self-reliance, yet who is still in need of a hero, and Stephen Fry who knows droll comedy well enough to pull off Mycroft Holmes without a pang.
Do see the film. Rather, see it twice so you can catch the hidden clues that you will no doubt miss the first time you see it.