The Boys are Back in Town

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows(2011)

“We’re back, your black and I’m mad.” Well, not quite, but probably the fact that a youthful joy of the buddy cop movie structure is more in keeping with Guy Richie’s Sherlock films than the twisting mystery of the source materials, has Holmes purists exclaiming that they’d have to be dragged to the theatre first, or if they saw the first movie two years ago, for the sequel, like The Who, “ they won’t get fooled again.” This is a shame, as A Game of Shadows is several steps up from the fun but clunky original. For a start, the plot is a lot better( no more bad Doctor Who episode feeling about supernatural happenings)- this time it’s Moriarty trying to start the First World War, also, thankfully someone gave Mark Strong the day off as having to be the villain in every film(also, he was killed in the first one), so we get the refreshingly underplaying(but then wouldn’t anyone have to underplay opposite Downey Jr’s histrionics) of Jared Harris as the scheming Professor. Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. have genuine chemistry and capture their bromance perfectly while Stephen Fry and his butler add further comedy about those daft English, to some already snappy lines from the main players. Brits will chuckle at Downey Jr. saying “ponce” among other things. It’s pithy, funny, action packed, really doesn’t pause for breath and links up nicely again with the books at it’s conclusion. Against it, Noomi Rapace is of course totally squandered by Hollywood as a pretty Gypsy, the slow motion can get a little wearing and how much more powerful would an open teaser of an ending have been, although it does make sense of an early plot setup. Indeed, everything slots together like a well oiled machine but like the nasty scene where Holmes is put on a hook, a few more of these unsignposted moments would have gone a long way. Great fun though, and for a change, not just for the cast. 9/10