Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

3/4

Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Violence and Action and for some Drug Content

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Kelly Reilly

It used to be that sequels were embarrassing copies of the original movie (“Alien 3,” “Batman and Robin,” just to name two).  Now, it’s the opposite.  “Sherlock Holmes” was adequate at best, but not really worth your time.  The sequel, on the other hand, is actually worth seeing.

After defeating Lord Blackwood in the first film, Dr. James Watson (Law) is finally walking down the aisle with his fiancĂ©e, Mary (Reilly).  This displeases Sherlock Holmes immensely, since it means that his partner is leaving.  But a series of high profile bombings has piqued his interest.  Holmes has discovered that it is not increasing antagonism between France and Germany that is responsible, but that his nemesis, Professor James Moriarty (Harris) is playing one against the other.  Now Holmes must get Watson to come with him to stop Moriarty before he starts a world war.

On paper, Sherlock Holmes and James Watson are one of the ultimate pairs.  They match each other perfectly.  On film, the chemistry is about half as strong.  Law and Downey work well together, but I can think of a few other buddies that mesh better.

One of the things that makes this movie better than the original is that the hero and villain are equally matched.  No offense to Mark Strong, but Lord Blackwood was pretty generic.  Moriarty, on the other hand, is essentially Holmes alter-ego.  They are both highly intelligent and they know each other very well.  Their first scene together, in which they establish the rules that their “fight” will follow, is very similar to the famous coffee diner scene in “Heat.”

Robert Downey Jr. returns as the odd-duck detective with a fast mouth and a savant-like ability for detecting details.  He’s as good as he was in the first film, although he’s playing the role for a hell of a lot more money.  Jude Law is a great straight man, but this is not the best demonstration of his talents.  Kelly Reilly and Rachel McAdams also return, although their roles are small (McAdams is on screen for all of five minutes).
New to the cast are Jared Harris, Stephen Fry and Noomi Rapace.  Noomi Rapace, one of the most exciting up-and-coming actresses, is great as the gypsy fortune teller who unwittingly becomes involved in this conflict.  Although I don’t hold her performance as Lisbeth Salander in as high regard as other people seem to (she was far too demonstrative in the first one, but that had more to do with the script than her), I was immediately impressed by her talent.  Very few actors make a successful jump from arthouses to mainstream, but Rapace fits right in.  Sim is intelligent and great in a fight.

Jared Harris is also very good as Moriarty.  With his drawling voice and cold eyes, it’s hard to imagine a better actor to play Holmes’ nemesis.  Harris isn’t a particularly well known actor, but for once, the studio cast the best person for the role, not necessarily the biggest name (having too many stars carries the risk of collapsing under its own wattage).  Moriarty is an intelligent criminal, and definitely not someone to be written off as a wannabe.  If something seems too easy, it definitely is.

Stephen Fry is also good as Holmes’ brother, Mycroft, who’s even battier than he is.  Fry specializes in playing characters who delight in breaking the rules, even though they’re good souls.  Fry knows what he  has to do and does it with a wink and a smile.

For the first hour, things run pretty smoothly.  Things run into trouble for a little bit after that and become confusing, but it quickly recovers (this is not a “turn off your brain” kind of movie).  One of the reasons why the film teeters on the edge of falling apart is because of the way that Guy Ritchie directs it.  He is so concerned with performing as many camera tricks as possible (in what is largely a cerebral movie) that it becomes overwhelming.

Although the film may come from a less than impressive pedigree, it is a surprisingly fun time.

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