Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

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Year:	2011
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	Guy Ritchie
Genre:	Rollockin' frollickin' sleuthin'
Starring:	Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris
Rating:	4/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1515091/
Tagline:	No tagline
Favourite line:	"If we can stop him, we shall prevent the collapse of Western civilization... No pressure."

There was a time when the very mention of the name Guy Ritchie sent all genuine cinephiles running to the hills, screaming themselves hoarse, whether through gales of laughter or genuine, gushing, trauma-induced tears.
Then, a funny thing happened: he released a movie that people actually seemed to like when Sherlock Holmes hit the screens in 2009.
Could he pull off the same improbable thing twice?

The plot:
Everyones favourite vaguely demented, flawed genius super-sleuth is back, this time on the trail of arch-nemesis Professor Moriarty, played with genuine menace-filled glee by the sinister-faced Jared Harris.
The journey, inevitably, is a long and rocky one, that takes in fights on moving trains, Stephen Fry's buttocks and more knockabout violence than you could shake a mid-period Bond movie at.

And, blow me down with a jeweller's eye-glass, it's only really ruddy good fun.
I mean, really, ruddy good fun.
It's pap, of course it is, but pap's OK when it is delivered with a glint in the eye and the occasional knowing wink at the viewer.
Downey Jr. simply owns the role of Holmes, a buzzing ball of nervous, semi-sane energy, whilst Jude Law foregoes his comedy Cockney cum Aussie attempt at a British accent from Contagion (a curious blind spot for an actor who is, you know, British an' all) in favour of the more traditional tones of The Queen's English.
Clocking in over the two hour mark, usually that is a stretch of my horror '85 minutes, no more' blunted patience, but this passed in the blink of an eye and, truly, if it had lasted another twenty minutes I would not have complained.
Massively entertaining, this is the first Blockbuster of the festive season and, by all that is Christly, it's a damn fine start.