Movies

Guy Ritchie's 2009 action-adventure Sherlock Holmes was a fun thriller about an eccentric detective solving crimes in 19th century London. But it wasn't Sherlock Holmes — and the 2011 sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is more or less the same.

Leading men Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law might play characters named Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, but that's more or less where the similarities to the characters from Arthur Conan Doyle's much-loved stories end. This isn't so much an adaptation as a transplant — grafting elements of a known brand onto a wholly new product, one that doesn't match the style or intent of the original.

That might irritate Holmes purists. But if you can overlook the non-Holmes-y-ness of Game of Shadows it's pretty enjoyable stuff — even if its plot is non-existent till the third act, when it (finally) becomes apparent that Holmes's archnemesis, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris, who plays the part with admirable restraint), is concocting a plot to push Europe into war.

As a side note, the plot has loose parallels with Doyle's short story 'The Final Problem' — regarded as one of the weaker Sherlock tales.

Like its 2009 predecessor, the film is beautifully made: 19th century London, Paris and Switzerland look fantastically grimy, and the sets and costumes are terrific.

Moriarty is joined by other new characters: Stephen Fry is as charming as you'd expect playing Sherlock's even-more-brilliant brother Mycroft; while Noomi Rapace (the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) plays a gypsy fortune teller, a role that doesn't give her much to work with.

Again, Downey Jr is the standout — he's a strange but charismatic leading man, bracing his portrayal with tics and unexpected affectations.

But he's not Sherlock Holmes.