Review

Review Date: 18-December-11
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

Fans of Guy Ritchie's first Sherlock Holmes movie should feel relieved that A Game of Shadows avoids the bloatedness and fatigue of so many sequels. It's still a robust re-imagining of a famous fictional world, but the explosions and fisticuffs don't overpower the humor and bromance which made the original fun.

The affection between Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Watson (Jude Law) is the key to this fledgling series, and this theme is reestablished shortly after the movie begins. Despite being engrossed in the biggest case of his career, Holmes is still smarting from the doctor's departure to get married. As best man Holmes botches the stag party, going off to sleuth while Watson sports with strangers, and then delivers the groom to the wedding in a tardy state of disarray. After that, he appears in the newlyweds' car on a train to Brighton and ruins all hope of a honeymoon. (Unlike the other things, this is done to protect his friend rather than annoy him.) Watson is furious, but one homoerotic escapade is all it takes to return him to Holmes' side where he belongs.

To complement the continued relationships (Rachel McAdams reappears briefly as Holmes' heteroerotic interest), the sequel rolls out new characters with varying degrees of success. Sherlock's equally eccentric brother (Stephen Fry) adds comic appeal, while a gypsy terrorist turned fortune teller (Noomi Rapace) fails to add the feminine spark which was likely intended. The real sparks fly in three scenes where Holmes meets his archenemy, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), who is trying to start a world war. For classic mystery tension, you can't beat face-offs between British brainiacs who respect each other's talents and abhor each other's motives. (Such meetings are especially intense when a grappling hook is involved.) As in Arthur Conan Doyle's original work, the geniuses' rivalry leads them from London to Switzerland, where an alpine waterfall provides a dangerous site for a showdown. Fittingly, however, the final scene belongs not to the rivals Holmes and Moriarty, but to the partners Holmes and Watson. Criminal masterminds may come and go, but perfect pairs are forever.

Copyright © 2011 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.