Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (Guy Ritchie) - 2011

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) will forever be spinning in his grave over this 21st century version of detective Holmes.  Director Ritchie has transformed Sherlock into a 19th century action hero who is combination James Bond/Indiana Jones figure.  Although nobody is pretending that this Holmes follows the Doyle stories (except for the names) - the sets, special effects and clever sleuthing make for an entertaining diversion.  This "Shelock Holmes 2" is the equal of the first episode except that the delightful Ms. Rachel McAdams has such a tiny part and it appears that her character (Irene Adler) has been eliminated from future adventures.  Holmes (Robert Downey) and Watson (Jude Law) go after the evil Dr. Moriarty (Jared Harris) in an attempt to derail Moriarity's plan to start World War I and cash in on the munitions business.  The good guys enlist a band of gypsies to battle the seemingly unlimited resources of Dr. M that include the entire German army.  Against all odds, you know the ending to this one. [JAM 1/30/2012]