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| Review: Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows |
| Film |
When watching Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows one cannot help but reflect on what Arthur Conan Doyle would have made of Guy Ritchie’s reimagining of his classic stories and legendary sleuth. It can safely be assumed that Conan Doyle would be left aghast by some of the film’s slapstick humour, appalled by the over-the-top fight scenes and downright horrified on hearing Stephen Fry as Sherlock’s brother Mycroft refer to our hero as ‘Sherley’. Despite this, however, even the great Conan Doyle himself would struggle not to find some joy in Robert Downey Jr’s fun and charismatic take on the eponymous detective and it is this performance and the chemistry between Downey and Jude Law as Watson which make the film work.
Taking off virtually from where 2009’s Sherlock Holmes left off, A Game of Shadows is a very loose adaptation of Conan Doyle’s ‘The Final Problem’ and sees Holmes and Watson take on their greatest and most frightening opponent: Moriarty. Jared Harris is a convincingly sinister Moriarty and the confrontation scenes between him and Downey’s Holmes are nothing short of electrifying. The same must be said of the scenes between Downey and Law and their lively and playful repartee is by far and away the highlight of the film. Despite these entertaining double acts the film suffers as a result of Ritchie’s tiresome obsession with fight scenes, big guns and set pieces. Instead of embracing a new type of fan and a new sort of film it is painfully clear that Ritchie is trying to appeal to his Lock, Stock and Snatch fan base by filling his film with relentless slow-motion shots of bombs exploding and bullet’s ricocheting. These scenes intend to be exhilarating feasts for the eyes but they are in actual fact boring distractions from the real story. A Game of Shadows would benefit from being more cerebral and less physical, with more confrontations of words rather than weapons. Despite these flaws, however, the film is still an entertaining watch with some engaging performances. Newer news items:
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