The powerful Establishing Character Moment of Sherlock Holmes, which happens not two minutes into the movie. Using his signature Sherlock Scan, he pointed out an unfortunate Mook's weak spots, and uses them to plan his attack.
Holmes manages, within a matter of moments, to completely disguise himself with things he picks up while busy trailing Irene through a carnival, then catch up to her coach and even catch a tiny glimpse of her employer.
When Irene is almost mugged in an alley, she manages to beat the muggers and steal their wallets.
The entire sequence of Blackwood's men versus Holmes and Watson in the "ginger midget's" lair. Also doubles as a Funny Moment.
Holmes' standoff with Coward from beginning to end:
Holmes: I'm curious, Coward, did you assist Blackwood in all the murders, or just the one I prevented? Very distinctive, those handmade shoes of yours. (Flashback shows hooded man at ceremony wearing same shoes as Coward) But the cost of quality is often the unique imprint they leave. (Holmes walks to the fireplace and Coward to his desk, his back to Holmes) Nonetheless, I confess to being completely outmatched. (Holmes closes the panel on the fireplace, allowing smoke to fill the room) I could deduce very little from my investigation. (Coward pulls a shotgun out from his desk and loads it) Fortunately, there's nothing more stimulating than a case where everything goes against you. How many members of Parliament do you intend to murder at noon today? Man, ox, eagle, lion? The lion is Parliament, isn't it? Coward: Very clever. But it's not murder, Mr. Holmes. It's mercy. We are giving the weak masses a strong shepherd. Don't you see that it's for their own- (Turns to shoot Holmes, but stops when he sees that the room is filling with smoke and he can't see Holmes) Holmes: No. But I don't care much what you think. I simply wanted to know the location of Blackwood's final ceremony, and now you've given it to me. Coward: I've told you nothing. Holmes: But your clothes say infinitely more than you could ever hope. The mud smeared on your boots from where you've been walking. A touch of red brick dust on your knee from where you've been kneeling. A small bandage on your thumb from where you've been vowing. A faint aroma of excrement from where you've been standing.(Coward opens the window, allowing the smoke to clear the room)You and Blackwood laid the final touches to your ceremony in the sewers beneath Parliament less than an hour ago. Both houses meet today. The entire government will be present.(Holmes' handcuffs slide across the floor to where Coward is standing) Coward: It's a shame you made an enemy out of Blackwood, Holmes. (Locks the door) You would've made a valuable ally. (Aims his gun toward the fireplace) How terrible is wisdom, when it brings no profit to the wise? We take power at noon. Holmes:(Sitting in a chair right behind Coward) There isn't any time to waste then, is there? (Coward immediately turns around and shoots at Holmes, but Holmes runs and dives out the window)
Irene's "entrance" into the location of Blackwood's Gas Chamber death machine.
"Moriarty. That's his name. And he's a professor." No, it's not The Un-Reveal that's awesome—the quote simply illustrates the awesome plan executed by The Man Behind the Man.
It gets even more awesome when you realise Holmes could have flattened his opponent this way right from the very beginning, but instead preferred to take a beating from McMurdo because it wouldn't be sporting to use his powers against a common man casually. He only changed his mind when McMurdo pushed his Berserk Button.
Awesome Music: The only way to make that scene even more awesome is to play "Rocky Road to Dublin" over it.
Holmes is kidnapped by a leader of the secret society, who smugly assumes that Holmes is wondering where he is and who he's dealing with, having been blindfolded for the whole trip. Except Holmes was able to use various auditory and physical clues to deliver a turn-by-turn account of the trip and divined his "host's" name from correspondence in the room, and finishes with this:
Holmes: As for mystery, the only true mystery is why you bothered to blindfold me at all.
"Yes. Well. Standard procedure, I suppose."
The opening sequence itself; it had been many moons since a wide-release, mainstream Holmes had been in theaters and the movie wastes no time setting the tone for this new vision, with an action-packed prologue that shows off the duo's melee skills, snarkery, and the good old Sherlock Scan.
Also, Holmes stopping Watson from going into Blackwood's Blade Below the Shoulder, which is shown to us at an angle to project how Watson sees it (or doesn't, as the glass doesn't show up at that angle), then the camera moves just a bit and reveals the glass blade.
Watson: How did you see that? Holmes: Because I was looking for it.
Holmes pulls out an elaborate lock-picking kit and begins testing the lock carefully in order to break into the Ginger Midget's lab. Watson turns up behind him and simply kicks the door down without preamble, telling Holmes that he's in a hurry and needs to leave to see Mary's parents in ten minutes.
Watson getting blown up is mostly an Oh, Crap! moment, but it doubles as a CMOA given that, when he realizes he's just tripped a bomb wire and is going to die in about five seconds, his only action is to immediately whirl around and shout for Holmes to not come any closer.
And at the same time, Holmes managing to break Dredger's arm, despite previously being subject to Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh... against him.
The last fight of Holmes and Watson vs Dredger. It showcases how well the iconic duo work together and what a difference a single capable person makes when throwing down against someone who's much bigger and stronger than you. Watson and Holmes work perfectly in sync with only a few sparse words needed to coordinate themselves and deliver what amounts to a Curb-Stomp Battle to Dredger who was basically The Juggernaut in his previous appearance when Holmes fought him alone.
Lestrade has one when he pretends to be in league with Lord Blackwood and hands Holmes to Lord Coward. He was so convincing Lord Coward didn't even think he was faking it.
Some credit to Ambassador John Standish. Upon discovering that Lord Blackwood is alive and everyone in his organization have thrown their lot in with him, he didn't hesitate the pull a gun on Blackwood and attempting to take him down when he threatens America. This is a normal man who's standing up to, for all he know, a powerful dark magician who could kill him instantly with his mind and has just come back from the death, yet he does it anyway because it's the right thing to do. It gets him killed horribly, but points for the man for trying.
Dredger gets one in his first fight with Holmes. After being chased around by Holmes and his makeshift- cattle prod, the big man grabs the device and withstands the shock until the machine breaks, sending Holmes running in the other direction.
One for Watson in the shipyard scene: when he realizes Holmes is in the way of heavy piece of machinery, he manages to run towards him past the flying chains and hold him down just in time.
The Summation where Holmes has Blackwood dangling off Tower Bridge and proceeds to reveal everything he'd effortlessly deduced over the course of the entire movie, casually finishing the complete demolition of Blackwood's supernatural pretensions and then saving Blackwood's life so that he can rightfully go to the gallows should be enough to persuade any skeptic that this really is Sherlock Holmes we're watching.
Holmes: There was never any magic! Only conjuring tricks. The simplest involved paying people off, like the prison guard who pretended to be possessed outside your cell. Your reputation and the inmates' fear did the rest. Others required more elaborate preparations, like the sandstone slab that covered your tomb! You had it broken before your burial, then put back together using a mild adhesive. An ancient Egyptian recipe, I believe. A mixture of egg and honey, designed to be washed away by the rain. [The plank that Blackwood was holding onto snaps, sending Blackwood closer to the edge. He grabs another plank.] Blackwood: Holmes! Holmes: Arranging for your father to drown in his own bathtub required more modern science. Very clever of Reordan to find a paralytic that was activated by the combination of copper and water, and was therefore undetectable once the bath water was drained. That might have been quite a challenge for me, had he not also tested it on some unfortunate amphibians. [The other plank snaps, sending Blackwood even closer to the edge. He grabs yet another plank.] Holmes:The death of Standish was a real mystery, until you used the same compound to blow up the wharf. An odorless, tasteless, flammable liquid, yet it burned with an unusual pinkish hue. Did Standish mistake it for rain as he entered the temple? All it took was a spark. A simple rigged bullet in his gun. Ingenious. Like all great performers, you saved your pièce de résistance for the end...a chemical weapon distilled from cyanide, and refined in the bellies of swine. Had it worked, your followers in Parliament would have watched, unharmed, as their colleagues were dying around them. They didn't know that you'd given them the antidote. Instead they would have believed it was magic, and that you'd harnessed the ultimate power. And the world would have followed, fear being the most powerful weapon of all. [The beam above Holmes and Blackwood is shown straining, and close to breaking loose from its chains]
Holmes: You'd better hope that it's nothing more than superstition, as you performed all the rituals perfectly. The devil's due a soul, I'd say. [The plank Blackwood is holding begins to give way] Blackwood: For god's sake, Holmes, cut me loose! [The plank finally snaps, and Blackwood is pulled towards the hole, only for Holmes to throw an axe at the rope pulling Blackwood towards the hole, saving him.] Holmes: First, the world will see you for what you are: a fraud. [Blackwood immediately hides the axe under his coat as an iron beam over his head begins to slip out of its chains] Holmes: Then you'll be hanged... properly, this time. Blackwood:It's a long journey from here to the rope... [The beam breaks loose, but Holmes steps out of the way and calmly watches it knock Blackwood into the chains below. The iron beam and the head of the crane pull the chains taut, slowly bending them free, giving Blackwood a Beat to see Holmes one last time before he falls. Then one of the chains goes taut. Holmes flinches and walks away. The crow that was following Blackwood flies off and it's revealed that the evil lord had hung himself.]
out of his much bigger opponent in a fighting tournament, but mentally processing every move he's going to make in a slow-motion second. It's a great scene that shows how his physical abilities also reinforce his great intellect.This mustn't register on an emotional level. First, distract target. [Holmes flicks a handkerchief in front of his opponent's face] Then block his blind jab. Counter with cross to left cheek. Discombobulate. [boxes his opponent's ears] Dazed, will attempt wild haymaker. Employ elbow block, and body shot. [blocks with his elbow and delivers a jab to the gut] Block feral left. Weaken right jaw. Now fracture. [a cross to the jaw fractures the bone] Break cracked ribs. Traumatize solar plexus. Dislocate jaw entirely. [two more body blows, and a right hook to the jaw hinge] Heel kick to diaphragm. [a heel kick to the opponent's chest sends him crashing out of the ring] In summary: ears ringing, jaw fractured, three ribs cracked, four broken, diaphragm hemorrhaging. Physical recovery: six weeks. Full psychological recovery: six months. Capacity to spit at back of head: neutralized. [Back in real time, Holmes picks up the handkerchief as though wiping the back of his neck, then proceeds to do all of the foregoing in approximately six seconds, and kicks McMurdo out of the ring before calmly walking away.]