The first Sherlock Holmes had to overcome the challenge of readjusting the legendary detective to a modernized version who lived in a jacked-up version of Victorian England.  The film was a hit, audiences accepted director Guy Ritchie‘s re-imagined Sherlock (Robert Downey Jr.), and the sequel moves on to broadening the world, upping the ante, and refining the rough parts of the original.  Like its predecessor, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is fun, easily-digestible entertainment, but the sequel simplifies the mystery and misses a major opportunity to highlight one of literature’s great villains.

After well-earned global acclaim for her riveting portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in the original film adaptations of Stieg Larsson’s best-selling Millennium Trilogy (which includes The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Swedish actress Noomi Rapace set her sights on Hollywood. In her first English-speaking role (she learned how to speak the language only three years ago), she plays Sim, the mysterious Gypsy who allies with Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Dr. Watson (Jude Law) in their quest to stop Moriarty (Jared Harris), in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (opening on December 16^th).

At the film’s press junket, Collider spoke to Noomi Rapace, in both a press conference and a 1-on-1 interview, about being one of the newcomers to the Sherlock Holmes franchise, working with director Guy Ritchie, how the emotional scenes are more difficult for her than the physical ones, and how she would love to revisit the character, if she were asked back for another film. She also talked about her transition to American movies, working with Ridley Scott on the 2012 summer blockbuster Prometheus, which she recently gotten to see some of while doing ADR in London, re-teaming with her Dragon Tattoo director, Niels Arden Oplev, for Dead Man Down (starring Colin Farrell), possibly working with Brian DePalma on Passion, and that it’s looking like The Last Voyage of Demeter is not going to work out. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

With a career that spans three decades and encompasses well over 100 films, Hans Zimmer is one of the film industry’s leading and most influential composers. At the press junket for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Collider got the opportunity to talk to him for this exclusive interview about the challenges of scoring a sequel, incorporating the culture of the characters, particularly with the Gypsy music in the film, how much fun he had scoring for Moriarty, and that he enjoys the family atmosphere of this franchise.

He also talked about his attempt to create a sound for The Dark Knight Rises that nobody has ever heard, opening it up for the fans of the franchise to record themselves chanting, the influence that reviews and online posts have, especially when it comes to The Dark Knight franchise, and his anthem for Amnesty International’s 50^th anniversary. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

With director Guy Ritchie‘s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows opening this weekend, we’ve been provided with a number of Sherlock Holmes related movie swag to giveaway to some of our readers.  As most of you know, the sequel to Sherlock Holmes stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris and Stephen Fry as Holmes’ brother Mycroft.  I caught a screening last week and thought the sequel was a lot of fun and Harris makes a great Professor Moriarty.  Definitely recommended.  Anyway, hit the jump for what you can win and how to enter.

In Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as the world most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. Accustomed to being the smartest man in the room, criminal mastermind Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris) throws Holmes off of his game, with his capacity for evil and lack of a moral compass keeping him steps ahead. As Holmes’ investigation into Moriarty’s plot becomes more dangerous, it also puts his friend and colleague, Dr. Watson (Jude Law), at risk and threatens to alter the course of history.

At a press conference to promote the film’s December 16^th theatrical release, Robert Downey Jr. talked about the challenge of taking the character and story to another level for the sequel, always keeping Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in mind when playing the role, transforming into a woman this time around, and working with Jared Harris and developing the adversarial relationship between Holmes and Moriarty. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

With the release of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows only a few weeks away, Warner Bros. has released 47 new images from the movie.  If you want to see 47 moments from the movie including a first look at Stephen Fry as Holmes’ brother Mycroft, hit the jump.  The film also stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, and Jared Harris.  Sherlock Holmes:  A Game of Shadows opens December 16th.

As I write today, in the back of mind rests more than a handful of permutations for my Black Friday plan of attack. Do I really need a new 42 inch HDTV? How about various seasons of television on DVD/Blu-ray for rock bottom prices? What about one of those sweet Dyson vacuum cleaners with the roller ball? The answer to all of the above is most likely a resounding “no”, but need isn’t what Black Friday is all about. Not even close. Black Friday is all about getting something/anything on the cheap if for no other reason than because if you don’t, then the person behind you in line will. Oh, America. How I love thee.

In this week’s “Top 5″ installment you’ll find our set visit coverage for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, our review and interviews for a little movie you may have heard about called The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, the first trailer for director Tarsem Singh’s Snow White-tale Mirror Mirror, a new trailer for Gary Ross’ The Hunger Games adaptation, and Steve’s coverage from his visit to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each.

While the last few years has seen a number of great “bromances” on movie screens, I think my favorite was the love affair between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in Guy Ritchie‘s Sherlock Holmes.  Not only did they successfully reboot Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s characters to a new generation of moviegoers, they looked like they were having a blast in the process and their great chemistry made everything more believable.

So when I got to visit the set of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows earlier this year outside of London, I got to see their working relationship first hand.  However, if you think the sequel is just going to be more of the same, Downey Jr. told us that the bromance is not front and center as “this time we are attempting to transcend that a little bit by making these two guys go up against something that is bigger than both of them.”  During the on set interview Downey and Law also talked about the darker tone, the new characters, Watson’s gambling problem, their filming process, and a lot more.  Hit the jump for what they said.

While Noomi Rapace had been acting in Sweden for a number of years, she wasn’t well known Stateside until she landed the role of Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish/Danish film adaptations of the Millennium series by author Stieg Larsson.  However, after her breakthrough role, Rapace took meetings all over Hollywood and landed two big roles: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Ridley Scott‘s Prometheus.

While on set earlier this year, I got to participate in a group interview with Rapace and she talked about how she landed the role, who she plays (a gypsy named Sim), how a big budget Hollywood movie compares to her previous work in the indie world, how she prepared for the role, how she dealt with the action, working with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, and a lot more.  Hit the jump for more.

In the sequel to Guy Ritchie‘s Sherlock Holmes, Jared Harris (Mad Men) plays the villain Moriarty, Holmes’ nemesis that was referred to at the end of the first flick.  While the safe choice for Warner Bros. would have been to cast a huge star to play the villain, I think the casting of Harris was brilliant and perfect.  First, he’s a great actor.  But just as important as his talents in front of the camera is the fact that he’s a chameleon-like character actor.  If the studio had cast someone like Tom Cruise in the role, you’d have a tough time seeing Moriarty on screen.  However, with Harris as Holmes’ arch nemesis, I think they’ve nailed the casting and audiences are going to be in for a really fun ride.

Earlier this year I got to visit the set of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows when the production was filming outside of London.  While on set I got to participate in a group interview with Harris where he talked about how he got cast, the way he worked with Robert Downey Jr. and Ritchie, the story of the sequel, how his Moriarty is so manipulative that he doesn’t need to commit violence himself or kill people as he can get others to do it for him, his research into the role, and a lot more.  Hit the jump for more.

As the producers of the Sherlock Holmes movies, Susan Downey and Lionel Wigram (who helped write the first film) deserve a lot of credit for bringing Holmes into the 21st Century and making him appeal to a new generation of moviegoers.  If you’re a movie nerd, you know the challenges of trying to bring classic literary characters to life.  Especially ones that have been done many times before.

Anyway, earlier this year I got to visit the set of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows when the production was filming about forty-five minutes outside of London. While on set, I got to participate in a group interview with Downey and Wigram.  We talked about the new cast members (Stephen Fry, Noomi Rapace and Jared Harris) and why they wanted them, Moriarty’s plan, where and when the sequel takes place, if there were any discussions about 3D, their thoughts on a 3rd Sherlock Holmes, and a lot more.  Hit the jump for more.

Moriarty (Jared Harris) is sitting at a table inside the Hotel De La Ville in Paris surrounded by people.  He’s reading a newspaper inside the cafe.  After a few seconds, someone walks in to tell him something.  While I can’t hear what they’re saying, the news must be important since he gets up after hearing it.  As he rises out of the chair, the focus of the shot pulls to an old man sitting at a table in the foreground of the frame.  The man is unremarkable.  He wears a suit of no importance.  He has a long grey beard and long grey hair.  I didn’t notice him until the camera pulled focus.  As Moriarty leaves the room and the man jumps out of his chair, I realize it’s Sherlock Holmes in disguise.

But let me back up a second.

Back in January, I got to visit the set of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows when the production was filming 45 miles outside London at Waddesdon Manor.  While on set, I got to participate in group interviews with Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, producers Susan Downey and Lionel Wigram, and director Guy Ritchie.  As you might imagine, I learned a great deal about the Sherlock Holmes sequel, and if you hit the jump, you can read my “20 Things to Know” and watch a video blog about the visit.

Warner Bros. has released four more character banners for Guy Ritchie‘s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.  There’s nothing particularly eye-catching about them, but for this movie WB could throw up a 27″ x 40″ poster reading: “Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law return to play Sherlock and Watson and you liked when they did that the last time.”  I’m also a bit curious as to why these posters have the characters standing in flames.  The characters look like they don’t know they’re standing in flames.  The flames aren’t crazy, but they’re still flames.  You don’t want to stand in them.

Hit the jump to check out the banners.  The film also stars Noomi Rapace, Stephen Fry, and Jared Harris.  Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows opens December 16th.

It’s not much of a surprise that regardless of the success of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Warner Bros. is ordering a script for Sherlock Holmes 3.  Getting a sequel script into development has become standard practice for major franchises so if the upcoming film is a success, the studio can hit the ground running with the next one.  According to Deadline, Iron Man 3 screenwriter Drew Pearce will handle the screenplay for the next adventure of Sherlock Holmes and his boy Watson.  Unsurprisingly, there are no details about Sherlock Holmes 3.  I assume it will involve a mystery, crazy deductive-reasoning skills, and lots of speed-ramping.

Pearce has been on a hot streak lately.  He was the co-writer of British superhero comedy series No Heroics and then was hired as a go-to guy for superhero movies including Iron Man 3, Runaways, and The Mighty plus he also did some work for the script for Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming monster movie, Pacific Rim.  This latest gig serves as a reminder that I really need to get around to seeing No Heroics.

Warner Bros. has finally released a new trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and it is discouraging.  There are a few neat moments like some glimpses of Rachel McAdams reprising her role as Irene Adler (although the role will amount to a cameo this time around), and the formation of ye old sniper rifle.  But what I find troubling about this trailer is that it’s very light on story.  Usually the second trailer is all about laying out the plot and this one is just more action.  Lots and lots of action, which is fine, but Sherlock Holmes vs. Professor Moriarty is one of the great fictional battles of all-time.  This movie may have boiled it down to excessive speed-ramping.  Here’s hoping I’m wrong.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, and Jared Harris.  Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows opens December 16th.