Sequels have had a bad reputation in the last few years of not living up to the critical success of their predecessors, but director Guy Ritchie goes some way to buck this trend with Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The plot follows Conan Doyle's hero in his ultimate confrontation with the elusive Moriarty, spanning the whole of Europe and threatening the easily distinguished peace held by a thread over western civilisation. Once again Holmes must employ his expert skills of deduction in order to best his foe, and so again Ritchie masterfully crafts sequences of slow-motion trickery to empathise with the mind of this British icon, allowing for a unique sense of immersion with the lead uncommon to many franchises. In fact, Ritchie's direction above all deserves the most praise- one action packed sequence in particular towards the film's denounement (you'll know it when you've seen it!) is tightly woven to visual perfection, a blistering treat on the eyes brilliantly conceptualising the period shift from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. This time around the storyline is a bit of a slow-burner, filled with action setpieces yet more intricately tuned to fit the tone of Conan Doyle's work in a more suitable manner (especially as the writers choose to take on several of his most daring entries, Reichenbach included), and this can work to the movie's detriment at times for fans of the fast-paced original such as myself, but ultimately results in a hugely satisfying conclusion that aptly deals with just about every loose end. My main criticism of Game of Shadows is that at times it seems to attempt to tackle too many storylines for its own good, throwing in and out characters like Irene Adler, the Scotland Yard police and Mycroft Holmes for a spout of humour, disregarding the viewer's attempts to keep up with the various plot threads such as the plight of gypsee Sim and the wedding of the Watsons. The closing scenes of this flick certainly give the impression that this is intended as the end of the road for Robert Downey Jr's version of the character, yet I'd wager that some of the slim plot threads could have made for entire sequels of their own had Ritchie and co not attempted to throw all of the elements into this one. Nevertheless, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a worthy successor to the brilliant original, filled with gags and thrills, and although it can't quite recapture the magic and innovation the series showed at first, it still remains one of the best films of 2011, and as such comes highly recommended.
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Friday 16 December 2011
EXCLUSIVE Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Review (4.5/5)
Sequels have had a bad reputation in the last few years of not living up to the critical success of their predecessors, but director Guy Ritchie goes some way to buck this trend with Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The plot follows Conan Doyle's hero in his ultimate confrontation with the elusive Moriarty, spanning the whole of Europe and threatening the easily distinguished peace held by a thread over western civilisation. Once again Holmes must employ his expert skills of deduction in order to best his foe, and so again Ritchie masterfully crafts sequences of slow-motion trickery to empathise with the mind of this British icon, allowing for a unique sense of immersion with the lead uncommon to many franchises. In fact, Ritchie's direction above all deserves the most praise- one action packed sequence in particular towards the film's denounement (you'll know it when you've seen it!) is tightly woven to visual perfection, a blistering treat on the eyes brilliantly conceptualising the period shift from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. This time around the storyline is a bit of a slow-burner, filled with action setpieces yet more intricately tuned to fit the tone of Conan Doyle's work in a more suitable manner (especially as the writers choose to take on several of his most daring entries, Reichenbach included), and this can work to the movie's detriment at times for fans of the fast-paced original such as myself, but ultimately results in a hugely satisfying conclusion that aptly deals with just about every loose end. My main criticism of Game of Shadows is that at times it seems to attempt to tackle too many storylines for its own good, throwing in and out characters like Irene Adler, the Scotland Yard police and Mycroft Holmes for a spout of humour, disregarding the viewer's attempts to keep up with the various plot threads such as the plight of gypsee Sim and the wedding of the Watsons. The closing scenes of this flick certainly give the impression that this is intended as the end of the road for Robert Downey Jr's version of the character, yet I'd wager that some of the slim plot threads could have made for entire sequels of their own had Ritchie and co not attempted to throw all of the elements into this one. Nevertheless, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a worthy successor to the brilliant original, filled with gags and thrills, and although it can't quite recapture the magic and innovation the series showed at first, it still remains one of the best films of 2011, and as such comes highly recommended.
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