MOVIE OF THE WEEK #1 (12/16/11): SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris, Noomi Rapace, Stephen Fry, Kelly Reilly, Paul Anderson and Rachel McAdams
WRITER(S): Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (characters); Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney (screenplay)
DIRECTOR: Guy Ritchie
WEB SITE: sherlockholmes2.warnerbros.com
THE PLOT: Picking up right at the end of the 2009 film, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows finds Robert Downey, Jr. reprising his role as "the world's most famous detective," now without his good friend and colleague Dr. Watson (Jude Law) at his side. You see, Watson is moving out as he is finally to be married to his beloved Mary (Kelly Reilly) and retire from all of Holmes' childish/crime-fighting (and sometimes, life-threatening) pursuits.
That all changes, however, when Holmes comes across a man who is not only as smart as himself, but more potentially evil than he could ever imagine ... Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris of Mad Men fame). For there have been a number of strange incidents recently - the death of a Chinese opium trader, the death of an American steel magnate, bombings that threaten to pit France and Germany at war with one another among them - that seem to be all pointing back to Moriarty. And Moriarty, a cool, calm, collected individual, is not going to just let Holmes - or Watson, for that matter - just stop his plans ...
Cue title sequence and ... Action!
THE TAKE: A Game of Shadows is one of the film's you'll like ... But it's not an instant liking; it's more so that the film grows on you. The story itself starts off a bit slowly - and not in that 'We need to develop the story' way. It starts off slowly as in the 'Hey, we didn't trim the fat in the story way.' Likewise, Moriarty is just established as a bad guy from the beginning with zero character development. Sure, we get the 'OHHH - that's why he's doing what he's doing!' information we need later on the film, but director Guy Ritchie apparently thought that it wouldn't be engaging to see Moriarty become the bad guy over time. (And it's not like they didn't have the time to do so.)
What does work well, however, are the action sequences in the latter portion of the film that do something that most action sequences don't: Add to both the development of its characters and the enjoyment of the movie. For when Holmes breaks down his plans of attack (be it verbal or physical), you get a better insight into his skill as a detective and how he operates.
Of course, the interplay between Holmes and Watson is fun enough were it has the interplay of an 80s buddy-cop film while Harris does his best to keep his villain simple (and thus easily accessible) for the audience. Also worth noting is the performance of Noomi Rapace (the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as she is the star of the Swedish version of the film) as the mysterious Gypsy Sim, playing her role very straight-laced so that she never becomes a distraction to neither the other characters nor the story. Last but certainly not least, if you even have to ask how the performance of Downey, Jr. and Law come across, go back and re-watch the first film to find your answer.
PARTING SHOT: In short, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows delivers exactly what one might expect: Some nice action sequences, some quick wit (with a little bit of corny thrown in for good measure) and a story that, compared to many films in its category, is more intelligent than others ... And that makes it an entertaining addition to the film franchise that should provide great fun for all those who enjoy a little cat-and-mouse movie mayhem.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
Comments
Post a Comment