The
character of Sherlock Holmes, as written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, seems like
an unlikely source for a swashbuckling action film but strangely enough it
works. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are well-matched as the constantly
bickering duo of Holmes and Watson. What I really liked between them was the
way Watson didn’t only endure his partner’s eccentricities as he does in many
other versions. Instead he seems fed up with Holmes and his attitude towards
him seems simply defiant.
In ‘A Game of Shadows’ Holmes continues his search for the mysterious Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) who’s machinations also kicked-off the first film. Like Lord Blackwood
(Mark Strong) in the previous adventure Moriarty is an effective villain. And
the best thing about him is that he comes straight from Doyle’s novels. He is
Sherlock Holmes’ nemesis; his only equal. Demonstrated amazingly in a scene at
the end where both consider how a physical fight between the two them would go
down.
Like any
good sequel the tone is close to the original but at the same different enough
to feel new. In fact, ‘A Game of Shadows’ feels like a James Bond film from the
sixties. The story takes us from the UK ,
to France , blows up a part
of Germany and closes in Switzerland
Is it as
good as the first? Sadly, no. ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’ is a cool
film but it didn’t manage to correct some of the flaws of Ritchie’s first
effort. You see, in a film about Sherlock Holmes you can always expect to be a
few steps behind the hero. After all, he is a genius. The first film played with
this notion with hectic interludes in which Holmes explains how he did what he
did. These return but are too implausible to be taken seriously. For instance,
there is a scene in which he sabotages a soldier’s rifle. But he does not
explain how he knew which soldier would later be in a position to kill him and
Watson. As I said he is a genius, not a psychic.
As for
psychics, there is one in this film, apparently. Noomi Rapace plays a gypsy
woman in search of her long lost brother. Rapace is a good actress but she’s
wasted on this film. Her character was really quite forgettable. Instead
Stephen Fry steals some scenes as Holmes’ smarter and weirder brother Mycroft.
Like we’ve
come to expect from the director of ‘Snatch’ and ‘Lock, Stock and Two SmokingBarrels’ the action is beautifully shot, mixing slow-motion with sped-up
footage to create a hypnotizing effect. Hans Zimmer is back to supply his brand
of film music; hardly creative but still serviceable.
But
ultimately the point of a sequel is to make more sequels. Would I mind? Not a
bit, I like these movies and I’d love to see more of them.
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