Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris) – Just as I said about the latest Mission Impossible movie, if you liked the first Sherlock Holmes, you will like this one.  In many ways, this is better.  The dialogue is even snappier and cleverer.  The jokes are funny; the sight gags are great.  Robert Downey, Jr. as Holmes in drag is hysterical and he is even better blending into the furniture (you’ll see what I mean).  Jude Law allows himself to be upstaged but he more than holds his own.  Noomi Rapace, the Swedish beauty who played the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is salsy and sassy.  And Jared Harris (Extraordinary Measures), as Professor James Moriarty, almost steals the picture.  He is all evil, taking his rightful place among great movie villains.

 

Holmes’ ability to see the future plays as even more interesting theater here as Director Guy Ritchie uses stop-action as a vehicle not only for special effects but also to flash-forward.  He uses fast action to send us back in time to show us the clues we missed.  “Elementary, my dear Watson,” while true, is never used as dialogue in the film.  Law as Dr. Watson is less a prop in A Game of Shadows.  He gets married in this one with Holmes as his best man, who is a shade melancholy to losing his friend and sidekick to someone else.  And I mean that in a good way.  Sherlock Holmes, the sequel, is a fun time.  It doesn’t make you think while it showcases some great acting talent.  I expect Oscar nominations for costumes and set design.

 

I have purposely avoided giving you the plot line, mainly because it doesn’t matter.  The film is about the gorgeous sets, the fabulous photography, the non-stop action, and the gags.  The latter distinguishes it from it from Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

 

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