Review of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) by Oxana — 23 Aug 2014

Quite a ride this movie was; much like the first "Sherlock Holmes", so if you enjoyed that, you'll certainly love this.

The plot was a bit more straightforward, with less plotting, hunting ghosts and barking shadows; Mr. Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) knows who he is up against, although convincing Watson (Jude Law) is not that easy - especially when the man is preparing for a honeymoon with his wife Mary (Kelly Reilly), to whom he finally got married to, regardless of his partner's objections.

Some new characters are introduced, mainly Holmes' brother Mycroft (Stephen Fry) and a gypsy Simza (Noomi Rapace), who will aid them in solving the case, although her role was not as huge as could be expected, looking at the promos and trailers. Moriarty (Jared Harris) rises from the shadows, and we see a quick one from Ms. Adler (Rachel McAdams) as well.

There's plenty more action, and it seems there is not that much guess work needed to solve this case. The familiar slow-motion is used, but I felt it was misplaced, used in a chasing scene where it was well showed off, sure, but it felt too long and got the characters nowhere, really.

All in all the movie sounded and looked good, as before, and the chemistry between Holmes and Watson is still there, remaining one of the driving forces of the movie; without those two, I fear the movie would lose most of its appeal.