Sherlock Holmes - Game of Shadows

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Noomi Rapace
Director: Guy Ritchie

NOW that the hype over the TV series of Sherlock (the one with Benedict Cumberbatch, or Cumbercob if you’re from Nuneaton) is beginning to die down, it is worthwhile taking a look at the recent film.
Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law are back at it again, investigating super crimes by super villains. This time they’re up against the dreaded Moriarty, the Blofeld of the Holmes world.
What Downey Jr and Law brought to the first film, they bring again to the sequel. In Law, Downey Jr has found another collaborator and like his partnership with Gwyneth Paltrow in the Iron Man series, these two complement each other, bouncing off each other’s charisma.
And director, Guy Ritchie, is on fine form too, showing off his bravado with magnificent sets, shot in the same muted colour as his previous films.
Secondary cast members help us along our journey, this time with Swedish actress Noomi Rapace playing Gypsy girl Madam Simza Heron searching for her brother; Stephen Fry as Sherlock’s elder brother and statesman Mycroft; and Jared Harris as the evil Professor James Moriarty.
They all play to the backdrop of an impending war between France and Germany.
So the pieces are in place but does the action meet the hype?
The first film in this interpretation of Sherlock, did not grab me like it did other people, but I understood its popularity.
Game of Shadows opens with Sherlock running into old flame Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) but gets into trouble when he finds himself surrounded by hoodlums, under the pay of Moriarty.
This is the first of the well choreographed set-pieces, and they must be impressive. I say that because the action was going far too quickly to absorb it all in, so I couldn’t tell what was happening between each cut. All I was aware of was that Sherlock was able to despatch the four men he was fighting. I’m not against fast editing, so long as the eyes a chance to take it all in.
And unfortunately this set the tone for what happened throughout the rest of the film. Like the complex plot, the audience were forced to keep up with what was happening on screen. There was no chance to catch your breath and work out what was happening. Yes, the audience were swept along with action, but it was more frustrating than exciting.
And despite all the set-pieces, some of which were spectacular – the scene on the train is a terrific gambit – there was not enough observation, and a bit too much explosion, a case of bigger and better and the action was spectacular.
But it all detracted away from why we loved Sherlock Holmes in the first place, not enough detecting, too much fighting. It seemed as if we were watching a 19th century James Bond rather than our beloved super-sleuth.