Game of Shadows Hardly Worthy of the Playing
The world is on the brink of war. Anarchists in France and in Germany seem set to pit their countries against one another, blowing up targets with both passion and precision. But Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) does not believe these events are as politically motivated as European governments seem to. He believes one man, the well-renowned but criminally devious Prof. James Moriarty (Jared Harris), is responsible for these attacks, some dark secret driving him forward hinting at a mystery the famed detective is determined to crack. With the aid of recently wed best friend and compatriot Dr. John Watson (Jude Law), as well as the assistance of the beautiful – if lethal – gypsy Madam Simza Heron (Noomi Rapace), Holmes is determined to do just that now what the cost.
Noomi Rapace, Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows © Warner Bros.
One could get a heck of lot more winded about Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and go into more detail in regards to the plot, the characters who drive it forward and the intricacies of global implications at the heart of labyrinthine plot, but the reality is this sequel is as simple as that. Brining in the renowned detective’s most legendary adversary, returning director Guy Ritchie and screenwriters Michele and Kieran Mulroney (Paper Man) have left things as simple as that, diluting Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle’s most enduring character to nothing more than intellectual late nineteenth century James Bond intent on stopping a madman from world domination.
Seriously. That’s it. There’s nothing more to it. Unlike the 2009 hit that preceded this one there’s very little mystery to be found here, not much in the way of puzzles in need of being solved. Prof. Moriarty is nothing more than a distaff Max Zorn looking to find his view to a kill, hoping to engender animosity and hatred between nations all to benefit his own pocketbook. It’s a lazy and not altogether interesting premise and to reduce Holmes to this level is something akin to an abomination, and for fans of the character and his literary adventures I can’t imagine they’re going to be remotely pleased by what is transpiring here.
At the same time, spending a 130 minutes with Downey and Law is hardly a chore, and Harris is sublime casting as far as Moriarty is concerned. Everyone gets back into the rhythms and the cadences of the first film with endearing ease, and for all its dramatic faults and mechanical narrative tedium I can’t say I wasn’t entirely displeased to be sitting in the theatre taking it all in. Ritchie once again stages some magnificent set pieces, an early chase through a London gambling hall an exhilarating exercise in action dynamics that left me breathless. There is great fun to be found here if one wants to look hard enough for it, and by and large I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit that the preview audience I viewed the film with didn’t seem to be enjoying themselves immensely.
Not that I care all that much in the end. The female characters are horrifically underwritten and poorly utilized, only the returning Rachel McAdams making any sort of impression and she’s only in the darn picture for five or six minutes at the most. On top of that, Ritchie’s staging of it all is almost cliché at this point, the director throwing in so many stylistic flourishes the combined effects becomes more off-putting than it does thrilling. It’s all so rote and routine at this point, sequences repeating themselves again and again and if not for the expertise of the actors inhabiting the picture there’d be very little to talk about as far as the positive side of the spectrum is concerned.
I liked the first Sherlock Holmes, liked it quite a bit, and even if the rough, ready for action version of Holmes wasn’t entirely kosher as far as the literary incarnations of the character was concerned he wasn’t as far removed from Doyle as some might try to make you believe. This sequel, however, is anything but what we’ve come to expect from our hero, this man more apt to use his brawn than his brain while the puzzle he’s trying to solve would hardly challenge a fifth grader’s intellect let alone his. This Game of Shadows isn’t dark or mysterious, doesn’t offer up enigmas difficult to crack or puzzles too complicated to complete, and the only thing mysterious is how something this lazy and uninspired could have seen the light of day in the first place.
Film Rating: êê (out of 4)
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