Friday, December 23, 2011

Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows (2011)




“If we can stop him, we shall prevent the collapse of Western civilization... No pressure.” 

            I can remember when the first Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey Jr. came out and my brother Anthony went to see it like three times and I think my parents did as well. My friend really wanted to go see and I thought why the hell not since my whole family is pretty much talking about it and seeing it so much. Well needless to say I greatly enjoyed the first Holmes and definitely had to go see the second. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows greatly expands every aspect of the first and delves greatly into the mystery.
            Holmes (Downey Jr.) is working on a new case involving a professor named Moriaty. The detective believes that the professor is involved in a series of murders of well known intellects and officials. Moriaty seems to always be one step ahead of Holmes but never for very long or maybe it is more often than not is the other way around.
            Holmes is trying to get his old partner Dr. Watson (Jude Law) to join the case but all the good doctor wants is to marry his fiancé Lucy and settle down. Watson’s plans of course go out the window immediately as Holmes purposely drags him into the case while out on his stag night. While out at a dance hall Holmes which he purposely goes there because a clue has led him to the resident gypsy fortune teller Simza (Noomi Rapace). He knows Simza is involved with the case and as time goes on we learn why and to what extent.
            The case leads them through Paris, Germany, and Switzerland. The danger becomes greater and greater as they travel through each country. They find that Moriaty has plans to start a world war by having a monopoly on all war industries such as guns, bandages, and other supplies. Also the more the group travels the more they find out how truly sick and twisted and evil Moriaty really is.
            I thought the plot was excellent and all the action was incredible. So much credit though goes to the cast because every one of them was cast perfectly. Robert Downey Jr. is so fantastic he just completely becomes this extremely intelligent and gifted man with what seems like such little effort. He is so funny and so witty you never get sick of what comes out of his mouth or seeing him on screen. Jude Law was perfect as Dr. Watson he has that perfect English gentleman quality about him that was a good balance to Holmes’ craziness. I have seen Noomi Rapace in the original Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and thought she was very good in that and I liked her a lot in this movie. She is so pretty she definitely had that gypsy-like look to her and her costumes were very pretty. Stephan Fry shows up as Holmes’ quietly eccentric brother. He had a hilarious scene with Lucy that you will be dying at.
            I cannot possibly go into every single character but trust me when I say every single person down to the extras was cast perfectly.
            The special effects especially where the action slows and it follows the bullet and the scenes where Holmes thinks out his move were very cool but after a while they bothered me a bit. That is really my only complaint other than that the movie is flawless (oh and the fact that Irene Adler is not in the film very long too). Downey Jr. delivers his lines in a way that is reminiscent of 1930s screwball comedies. The chemistry between the main cast was unbelievable even in the serious moments you can see it.
            Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a very fun and entertaining movie. It is made up of every major movie genre you can think of and they all mix wonderfully. 

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