Sherlock Holmes:
A Game of Shadows (2011)
A Game of Shadows (2011)
Brief review: One of the most controversial UK directors, Guy Ritchie, is back behind the camera to provide us with more Sherlock Holmes awesomeness on steroids, in this well-made and highly entertaining sequel to the 2009 original. Not sure if it's because of the new writers or Ritchie's progressively excessive imagination, but "A Game of Shadows" is absolutely on-par, if not better, than the first movie. The story is well-paced, engaging and full of hidden clues, and Ritchie's direction is as unpredictable as it's versatile. During the spectacular and literally explosive action scenes, he alternates cool and innovative slow-mo with dynamic camera work, quick cuts and zooms to make them a feast for the eyes, while during the dialogue-driven sequences, he compensates the lack of action with witty verbal duels, clever jokes and hilarious situations. Visually, "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" never fails to impress. The settings are grim, yet stylishly authentic, and the smokey cinematography creates a specific mood and atmosphere that suits well the shadowy, mysterious tone of the film. Robert Downey Jr.'s one again inhabits his charmingly eccentric character, Homes, Jude Law is incredibly likable as Watson and the well-cast Jared Harris turns in an interesting villain, but the special ingredient here is 'the girl with the dragon tattoo', Roomi Rapace, as the pretty gypsy fortuneteller.
Overall summary: Intriguingly mysterious, magnificently witty, visually-stylish, and packed with stupendous action scenes, "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" is even slightly superior to its fabulous predecessor, which automatically means it's one helluva fun cinematic ride.
24 comments:
Think I'll watch this just to see how Noomi fares in a Hollywood production. Hopefully she wont ruin Prometheus.
Ruin?!? No chance, she's amazing!
This movie was excellent! You hit all the good points about it. The banter between the leads was hilarious.
Alex, glad you think so. :) It was, as was the movie itself. Quite brilliant sequel, in my opinion.
This is actually going to play down here. Next week,I think. Can't wait.
We just saw Tin Tin. I agree with you.'Everything that animation should be.Thanks.
George,
Thanks for the review on this film. I've not watched it yet. One question, as this movie is on 3D, are the visual effect worth the 3D price?
Cheers!
Can't wait to watch this! The first one was soooo sexy...I mean.....awesome..and sexy! Thanks for sharing!!
farawayeyes, I hope you like it as much as I did.
So glad you enjoyed Tintin. At first, I wasn't even interested in it, but I ended up more than pleasantly surprised.
Thank YOU! :)
Richi, it's not a 3D movie. It was shot and played in old-fashioned 2D. :) That doesn't make it less good though.
Girl on Gore. I agree, it was. An this one is even sexier. :)
Awesome review and I agree one hundred thousand percent!! I think this was superior to Holmes the First and I want a third right now. Came across this during a break from computer situation. I see I've missed a ton of reviews which I will have to catch up as soon as I can. :)
Glad you agree, sweetheart. I liked it better than the first one too.
Ah, I know, I know... I hope they fixed it already. Starting school today, and will miss for a while.
Sweet! I was debating whether or not this film deserved a big screen visit. Because of your praiseworthy review, I have my answer: I'll be catching Sherlock Part Deux during the upcoming weekend!
Thanks for nudging me in the right direction!
me & 2 friends, we were sooo pumped for this since we're all huge Guy Ritchie / Sherlock Holmes fans - unfortunately, we were all pretty disappointed. The movie was too long, too over-the-top, there were to many meh characters, the plot was muddled and it was annoying that they turned the charming SH into an annoying Chuck-Norris-like Uber-Superhero who is able to do and to know everything.
Great review though!
Sadly I haven't seen any of the Sherlock Holmes films. I know it's probably horrible of me. However, this review does convince me to give it a chance. Do you think it's necessary to see the first one to catch on to this one? Or should I just watch both? : )
I disagree with you on this being better or on a par with the first one, but I still enjoy this one.
The slow motion was cool and innotive? Not really, I found it annoying, seen it all before.
Anyway, interesting review and blog. I've followed you.
Matty, it's definitely worth-seeing on the big screen. It's tons of fun and even better than the first one. Yes, that's right - it's better.
Give it a shot and let me know what you thought of it. :)
You're welcome, buddy.
Harry, I respect your opinion but I disagree. This one was over-the-top, and the first one wasn't? :) Which characters were meh exactly? :)
It was quite long, yes, but in this case, that's not a problem. I didn't get bored for a minute.
Nicole, you should definitely watch both, because both films are great, plus, you'll appreciate the chemistry between the leas a lot more. Go rent the first one, and then run to your local theater. :)
Myerla, first of all thanks for the follow.
The slow mo was annoying and you've seen it hundred times before? In what movie did you see this type of slow-mo exactly? :)
Sorry George, this one just didn't do it for me, boring, slow paced, and not at all funny. The action was quite cool, but just didn't fit in I didn't think. Shame really, because I enjoyed the first film.
Slow and boring? What the hell are you talking about, Russ? You must have been in a pretty bad mood the day you watched it. :)
And I thought it was better than the first film.
Nice review of the movie. Downey Jr is a very interesting Holmes.
I liked the first movie. The second one looks to be quite action-packed. I am yet to check this movie out.
Cheers!
buddy2blogger, glad you liked it.
Yes, he certainly is. In my opinion, he's the best Holmes yet.
I hope you enjoy it as much as the first one. :)
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