In terms of sheer entertainment value and audaciousness, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows surpasses its predecessor, a film that played more like a big-budget episode of Scooby-Doo. This time around, Holmes must prevent a madman from starting war in Europe, and we’re treated to the loud, bombastic spectacle of a James Bond movie set in the Victorian Era.

For those expecting a dense, labyrinthine mystery, there’s none to be found. Holmes knows early on that the figure pulling the strings behind a series of assassinations and bombings is his infamous rival, Oxford professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris). For all their mighty intellects, Holmes and Moriarty go at each other with brute force and just a dollop of cunning.

The amoral professor’s plan is to profit from selling munitions he has stockpiled through a series of acquisitions that are given the glossy exposition treatment. His scheme has the effect of bringing Holmes and Watson closer together at a time they should be apart — the gimpy doctor’s honeymoon. Like a Bond villain, Moriarty dispatches his henchmen to kill Watson and his new bride while they travel by train, thus requiring the renowned detective to look after them.

Harris (Mad Men) plays Moriarty with hissing menace and holds his own against his counterpart’s charisma. Downey Jr. is more comfortable in the title role this time around, making his Holmes a socially awkward savant whose sometimes off-putting eccentricities are softened by his need for human companionship. Unlike Bond, he doesn’t bed the ladies. Much like Bond, Downey Jr.’s Holmes is a man of action, skilled in the art of fighting and willing to bounce all over the European continent to stop his adversary, which is precisely what the script has him do.

Along the way, red herrings pop up aplenty, so director Guy Ritchie’s pace is suitably brisk, as there’s nothing much of import to solve except for a series of small, diverting puzzles that just serve to remind us this is a Sherlock Holmes movie.

To that end, Ritchie emphasizes Holmes’s acumen for sensing every bit of his surroundings. He also repeats the first film’s gimmick of having Holmes previsualize his battles in slow motion. That stunt gets an added twist during the film’s concluding showdown between Holmes and Moriarty, which involves a game of chess (of course!) and a thrilling payoff that recalls Doyle’s source material.

Noomi Rapace, who starred in the original Swedish version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series, plays a fortune-telling gypsy whose brother is a pawn in Moriarty’s schemes. While she is attractive, Ritchie doesn’t give her much of anything to do except advance the story. Faring better is Stephen Fry, who has a charming turn as Holmes’s brother Mycroft (and who affectionately calls the detective “Sherlie).

With the exception of Watson’s nuptials, a sequence that features some beautiful cinematography, there is nary a whiff of male-female relations. This is a serious bromance all the way, one evoking the distinct pleasures of male camaraderie. The buddy-movie affection and banter between Holmes and Watson are what lift this above the standard, well-made actioner.

There’s plenty of far-fetched poppycock amidst the secrecy and deceptions. But the action is so outlandish, the set design so immersive, and the human interactions so satisfying, it seems wrong not to forgive Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows for not being as clever as its literary progenitor. It isn’t as smart as its protagonist, but it sure is fun.