Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows – 3.5 stars

Better than the first movie, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law have given their easy banter a deeper root and the villain Moriarty (Jared Harris) is seductive and superior.  You actually believe feel Holmes is over-matched.  Best, Stephen Fry has been enlisted as Holmes’ older brother and his scenes are hilarious.

The plot is also interesting and intricate, developing with appropriate twists and turns, and the special effects (you can’t go wrong with an armaments factory) are dizzying.