Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Europe is on rocky relations; in particular France and Germany are at each other’s throats. A series of explosions and assassinations are taking place, each one schemed by Professor James Moriarty, a cunning man who as aspirations to begin world war and supply both sides with everything from arms to bandages. Renowned detective Sherlock Holmes is immediately on the case, dragging his newly wedded partner Watson along for the ride. But this time, their final case together, Holmes may have finally met his match. 

Just quickly, on a trivial note, I just realised that this villain is the exact some one in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: same name, same plan, just different actor and different opponent. How funny. Only on the rare occasion does the sequel outdo the original… this is not one of those occasions. Don’t get me wrong, I still loved the movie and found it intriguing, rollicking, and humorous, but, as is the case with most sequels, it tried to outdo the first one and therefore, ended up overdoing everything and losing quite a bit of that impact that its predecessor had. The same thing happened with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and The Hangover Part II. 

Europe is on rocky relations; in particular France and Germany are at each other’s throats. A series of explosions and assassinations are taking place, each one schemed by Professor James Moriarty, a cunning man who has aspirations to begin world war and making profit: supplying each side with everything from arms to bandages. Notorious detective Sherlock Holmes is on the case, dragging his newly wedded partner Watson along for the ride. But this time, their final case together, Holmes may have finally met his match. 

Not dissimilar to the second Pirates of the Caribbean, this movie attempted to outdo its predecessor by having more frequent and fervent scenes of action and violence. The slow-motion effect is used again to great effect, only much more frequently, which takes away a little of the initial impact and wonder that entranced audiences in the first film. 

What disappointed me a bit with this film was that there was no more light-hearted and domestic banter between Holmes and Watson, which was the best part of the first film; I heartily enjoyed their little tiffs about who left the stove on and such, but in this one (obviously their circumstances have changed so it was harder to have domestic troubles), there was not as strong a sense of companionship like there was in the first one and I found that a little dispiriting because it did remove a fair amount of the humour and balance that the first one proudly boasted. 

Aside from these two tiny negativities, this film was definitely as engaging as the first one with its complex tricks and deceptions of the plot and its memorable performances from all its actors. 

Starring Robert Downey Jr. Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Stephen Fry, Jared Harris, Paul Anderson, Kelly Reilly, Geraldine Jones, and Rachel McAdams, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was a great film packed with explosions, violence, action, cross-dressing, and the odd splash of refreshing comedy. It’s a great game of cat and mouse and I did greatly enjoy it.