We’ll be the first to admit we pegged “Sherlock Holmes” all wrong. While it looked rather disastrous in its marketing, what with those 7/11 taquitos tie-ins and what not, it seemed like some kind of Disney-fied disaster gone wrong; a tepid version of “Pirates Of The Caribbean 2” set in the world of the famous English detective. But cut to December 2009 and Guy Ritchie‘s dazzling direction, Hans Zimmer‘s killer score and Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law‘s unexpected chemistry proved us totally wrong. We were happy to eat crow and this was exactly what we’re hoping from a tentpole: something thrilling, engaging and, okay, maybe smart would be too much, but the film didn’t insult our intelligence and these days that’s a plus; “Sherlock Holmes” was a total winner.
So you might have expected this one, the arrival of the new trailer, given all the new photos (one of Jared Harris as Moriarty this morning), newer photos this afternoon, and teaser posters yesterday (not to mention all that Entertainment Tonight nonsense. So the trailer for “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” has arrived and while it looks like more of the same, it looks equally entertaining as well.
This one picks up where the last one left off. Watson (Jude Law) is attempting to lead a quiet married life, but of course Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr. bursts back in and keeps sucking him into his adventures. After surviving three murder attempts from the nefarious Moriarty, Holmes teams with Watson to finally capture the evildoer who heads up a criminal organization, and the two take off across Europe to track him down. Loosely based on Arthur Conan Doyle‘s short story, “The Final Problem,” first published in 1893, the film then deviates from that plot and makes room for Mycroft (Stephen Fry), Holmes’ brother, and the inclusion of the gypsy Sim played by Noomi Rapace.
Even better for us, Hans Zimmer — who arguably may have been the star element of “Sherlock Holmes,” at least in the dramatic scenes, is still on board to handle score duties.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large–Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris)–and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective.
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Eddie Marsan, Stephen Fry, and Gilles Lellouche ‘Game of Shadows’ is scheduled to hit December 16th, the same Christmas season sweet spot that turned the original film into a bonafide hit ($524 million worldwide after all was said and done). [Apple]
