Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was one of my most-anticipated movies of this year, probably behind only the Muppets. I enjoyed it, but didn’t love it.
Holmes is the same sarcastic, socially inept, brilliant man. This time around he’s pitted against Moriarty, a name any Holmes fan will recognize. Moriarty is Holmes’ only intellectual equal, but he is purely evil and power-hungry. His plan is to start a war and provide weapons to both sides. The interplay between the two was well-done I thought, although Moriarty’s plan was a little complicated, to say the least. He and Holmes were like two sides of the same coin.
My problem with the movie is that I had seen it before. The filming, the glimpses into Holmes’ thought process, even the proclivity for costumes, nothing was new. The plot alone didn’t grab me enough and I’m not sure that there was really much character development from the original. Or maybe I’m just mad that Irene Adler didn’t have a bigger part.
Things I did like:
- Sherlock Holmes. One of the characters I truly love, in all his incarnations.
- Mycroft Holmes. Great addition to the series. The brilliant big brother who works in government.
- The falls. But really how else could it have ended?
It’s a fun adventure, although not one that had me raving about how much I loved it.
3½ out of 5 stars
Release Date: December 16, 2011
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 129 minutes
Oh well…you have the right attitude about this movie…just fun…I have heard others say the same thing…
I agree. I liked the movie but it was like I saw it before.
Meh, dvd it is. Since I was not that taken by movie 1 either
I have not seen a Sherlock Holmes film since the original black and white film with Basil Rathbone, I think, so this one should be interesting. Thanks for the heads up.
I saw the first movie and didn’t love it either, so I’m not anxious to see this one.
I enjoyed the first one and I’ve been looking forward to this one. Probably because I like Robert Downey.
This is one of those movies I’m sure I’ll see at some point, though I haven’t rushed out to experience it because I figured it’d be more of the same.
Great review!
I quite enjoyed the first film and was planning on seeing this but after hearing so many not so good reviews I think I’ll wait until its out on DVD.
I actually liked this one a bit better than the first, although I did miss Irene.