Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Do You Want To Play A Game?

Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows

Professor Moriarty: “Are you sure you want to play this game?”

Sherlock Holmes; “I’m afraid you’d lose.”

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows, director Guy Ritchie’s follow-up to his 2009 hit Sherlock Holmes, is in fact a fast-paced game of intellect and mystery; a clever face-off pitting the always charming pairing of Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock and Jude Law’s Dr. James Watson against the nefarious Professor Moriarty, played by James Harris (seen next as General Ulysses S. Grant in Steven Spielburg's biopic Lincoln).

The filmmakers clearly looked back on what worked so well in the first film and incorporated them well into the sequel. This means you can expect the same level of clever wit, particularly in the banter between Downey Jr. and Law who continue to bicker like an old married couple. The rehashing of old jokes actually works relatively well in this film and even though they may not be as fresh this time around, they certainly don’t bomb as bad as the reused jokes in the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels.


The film follows Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as they race around Europe, chasing down the sinister Professor Moriarty; the Joker to Sherlock’s Batman. The arch-nemesis of Homes in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes books is perhaps the first super-villain of fiction, essentially serving as the inspiration for the James Bond series’ evil genius Ernst Stavro Blofeld and subsequently stock character bad guys everywhere. So the pressure was certainly on James Harris as he attempted to portray the first super-villain/evil-genius/arch-enemy/bad-guy ever.

In Game of Shadows, Moriarty is certainly a real menace to not only Holmes, but the entire world as he attempts to orchestrate the instigation of the First World War. Even when he is not on screen, the threat of Moriarty’s antagonism is felt in every whisper and shadow. And when he is on screen, Harris simply seethes a greasy charm as he verbally spars with Holmes in rather barbed exchanges.

The filmmakers are fortunate that Downey Jr. and Law have such a fantastic rapport, since they unfortunately underused both Stephen Fry (next seen in Peter Jackson's prequel The Hobbit) & Noomi Rapace (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, the original Swedish version). Fry is a well-known British actor and comedian, here playing the much-loved role of Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft Holmes. Fry gives us a couple of humorous moments, but his character lacked real purpose. It really felt like he was in A Game of Shadows simply because it seems to be a rule that sequels introduce new characters, whether they serve the plot or not.

The same goes for Rapace’s character, Madam Simza Heron. When Holmes’ love interest Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) is given a quick exit at the start of the film (I still think she’ll be back for the next film, along with Moriarty), the filmmakers needed a female lead, just to look at I suppose. Both parts wasted the great talents of Fry and Rapace.

Ultimately, A Game of Shadows is just as good as the first film. Not better, but not certainly worse. Look forward to the planned follow-up to make this series a trilogy. But until then, this sequel is a winning game.

The Final Word: Go buy a ticket.

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