By: Dove
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I’ll admit, I wasn’t a huge fan of the 2009 Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams. Even with Guy Ritchie at the helm, and all kinds of award nominations and whatnot, I was bored to tears with the movie. However, because I’m such a huge fan of these four people alone, I decided to give Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows a fair shot. And guess what? I really liked it!
After trying to figure out why I disliked the first film so much, I have to chalk it up to a little too much talk and not enough action. Some may beg to differ, but I felt like Holmes just ran his mouth too much the first time around. I love an uber-smart, snarky, drug-happy hero at almost any turn, but sometimes the action does speak louder than the words.
In A Game of Shadows, Guy Ritchie gives us a bang-up good time with plenty of juicy fight scenes, explosions, shootings, assassinations, stabbings, bombings, poisonings and everything else that you’d want for a good time in the theater. Ok, so maybe it’s just me, but I do love to escape, and while the witty banter between Holmes and Watson is on point, it’s not dominating the movie to a fault.
The synopsis of this Warner Bros. film is simple enough, with some good twists and turns for the mystery lovers in the crowd. Watson (Jude Law) is newly married and trying, unsuccessfully, to enjoy his honeymoon phase. Rachel McAdams‘ crafty Irene Adler brings the expected 19th century mean girl action, while Swedish actress Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) joins the cast as a fierce fortune teller with some big family problems. [Whatever you do, do NOT read the Wikipedia page for the film before you see it because someone posted the entire story, ending and all!]
And yes, the scene in the forest is truly as remarkable as it appears to be in the trailer!
When all is said and done, I’m going to give kudos to the new screenplay writers – husband and wife team Kieran and Michele Mulroney. They don’t have a lot under their belts in Hollywood just yet, but this movie should bring a lot more opportunities their way. The story is fast-paced and funny without being too full of itself, giving Robert Downey Jr. just the right edge to fuel Holmes’ wacky ways.
Fortunately, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is more than enough RDJ fix to get us through until The Avengers hits theaters next Summer!
That said, I do recommend this for a good holiday flick! There are a LOT of loud scenes, so those with sensitive ears may need earplugs. But for those of us with enough club days in our past for premature hearing loss – bombs away!
