Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) reunites with Dr. John Watson (Jude Law), and with the help of Madame Simza Heron (Noomi Rapace), they try to stop Professor James Moriarty’s (Jared Harris) numerous assassination attempts and terrorist attacks. Madame Simza is a Gypsy fortune-teller, and her brother might be the assassin for Moriarty’s next big target. Holmes, Watson, and Simza try to derail Moriarty’s plans, but the crafty Professor is always one step ahead of them.
For some odd reason, I couldn’t get into the 2009 film. The acting was good, and I always LOVE Guy Ritchie’s style of directing. It wasn’t a bad film at all, but I just couldn’t get into it. Well, Game Of Shadows was real treat for me, because I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this one.
A Game Of Shadows provides an excellent mix of action and humor, and this film features a good amount of twists and turns. Guy Ritchie brings his A Game on the directing side of things. Ritchie’s stylish directing provides plenty of thrills and excitement, and the mesmerizing action scenes are very enjoyable. Although, the abuse of witty dialogue did annoy me a little bit. Still, A Game Shadows is filled with laughs, and it’s a very fun action/comedy.
Jarred Harris was superb as Professor James Moriarty. Moriarty is a devious and intelligent villain, and he’s always one step ahead of Holmes throughout this film. Moriarty crafty, and Harris was very convincing here. Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law still share some excellent chemistry together, but I really missed Rachel McAdams. McAdams reprises her role as Irene Adler, but as far as on-screen time goes, she’s just regulated to cameo appearance status in this film. Her character doesn’t last long, and I wish I could’ve seen more of her in this film. McAdams’ character always played both sides. She was a crafty thief, and she did work for Moriarty, but McAdams could still bring a charming presence to this character. Noomi Rapace replaced McAdams as the prominent female in this one. Madame Simza has more of an edge. She was tough, willing to fight, and Rapace did a fine job with the acting. Rapace was a suitable replacement for McAdams, but the absence of the Irene Adler character did leave a noticeable void in this film. Adler did have a strong connection with Sherlock Holmes. Both characters had feelings for each other, and Adler was Sherlock Holmes’ Achilles heel.
A Game Of Shadows received mixed reviews from critics. Some of them really enjoyed this film, but a lot of critics decided to bash this one, because it doesn’t “live up to the original.” A Game Of Shadows has fallen on the long list of disappointing sequels for some people. The overall critical reception was mainly negative, but A Game Of Shadows was a nice box office success, and Warner Bros. has something special with the Sherlock Holmes franchise. Robert Downey, Jr. is the perfect choice for Sherlock Holmes. Plus, constantly producing high quality films shouldn’t be a problem. They just need to keep Robert Downey, Jr, Jude Law, and Guy Ritchie together. Keep this nucleus together, and the Sherlock Holmes franchise will continue to flourish, and I’m really looking forward to the third film.
Final Rating: 8/10
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