More a tournament of effects. In this franchise, the great sleuth has become a 19th-century Bond empowered by 21st-century pyrotechnics and whiz-by editing. The clues come so fast we’d need a computer to grasp them, as Guy Ritchie puts Sherlock (“Sherley” to his brother) through hectic paces including mad chases, dress-up humor, grand guns, the destruction of a forest, Stephen Fry in the nude, gypsies, classy snatches of music (Mozart, Schubert, Johann Strauss), and absurd recoveries. Robert Downey Jr. (Holmes), Jude Law (Dr. Watson), and Jared Harris (Professor Moriarty) wink through a lot of rather bitchy dialogue and seem fully committed to the dynamic nonsense. (2011) — David Elliott
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