Ad Absurdum (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ad00absurdum) wrote2012-01-13 09:18 pm
ad00absurdum) wrote2012-01-13 09:18 pm
Entry tags:
"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows", dir. Guy Ritchie
Time to write something about the new Holmes productions before I completely forget. For now, only the Guy Ritchie's film. I'll leave the BBC mini series till after the second season ends.
So, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a sequel and, I don't know, maybe I'm mellowing, but this one didn't piss me off the way the first Ritchie's Holmes film did. Or maybe I've just accepted the fact that his movies don't have much in common with the original ACD stories.
Anyway, the new film is pretty good - a nice piece of entertainment with explosions (very nicely done) and fisticuffs which I thought were quite cleverly done - with Holmes first sort of deducing how the fight would go (and usually being right). The best is, as always though, cinematography: London is beautifully Victorian, dirty and gloom and absolutely stunning.
As for the actual plot and characters, we finally see professor Moriarty, though that scene with him hanging Holmes on a hook while singing along to a piece of classical music and then swinging Holmes about, very sadistically, I might add, was a tad overdone. All that was missing was manic laughter a la "Ha ha, I am an evil genius. Whatcha gonna do about it?" *trollolol*.
Interesting thing with Irene Adler, who as we've already seen in the first film, had some dealings with Moriarty and (this is the intersting bit) so had the Irene Adler from the newest Sherlock episode (S02E1). I sense a trend. Anyway, we don't get to see too much of her in here because she gets elegantly killed by Moriarty somewhere in the first 30 minutes.
Also, I quite liked Mary Morstan - she seemed to be holding her own.
The ending was quite clever too - slightly different reenacting of the Reichenbach death scene. Very picturesque. No, Holmes doesn't die here either, but the way he re-appears (though Watson is still unaware after the film ends) is priceless and very funny too.
All in all, I'd recommend the film, though it's definitely not for people who expect the director to be faithful to ACD's works. As long as you don't mind the comic-book nature of the movie, it's two hours of good entertainment.
Rating: 3.5/5. Oh OK, 4/5
So, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a sequel and, I don't know, maybe I'm mellowing, but this one didn't piss me off the way the first Ritchie's Holmes film did. Or maybe I've just accepted the fact that his movies don't have much in common with the original ACD stories.
Anyway, the new film is pretty good - a nice piece of entertainment with explosions (very nicely done) and fisticuffs which I thought were quite cleverly done - with Holmes first sort of deducing how the fight would go (and usually being right). The best is, as always though, cinematography: London is beautifully Victorian, dirty and gloom and absolutely stunning.
As for the actual plot and characters, we finally see professor Moriarty, though that scene with him hanging Holmes on a hook while singing along to a piece of classical music and then swinging Holmes about, very sadistically, I might add, was a tad overdone. All that was missing was manic laughter a la "Ha ha, I am an evil genius. Whatcha gonna do about it?" *trollolol*.
Interesting thing with Irene Adler, who as we've already seen in the first film, had some dealings with Moriarty and (this is the intersting bit) so had the Irene Adler from the newest Sherlock episode (S02E1). I sense a trend. Anyway, we don't get to see too much of her in here because she gets elegantly killed by Moriarty somewhere in the first 30 minutes.
Also, I quite liked Mary Morstan - she seemed to be holding her own.
The ending was quite clever too - slightly different reenacting of the Reichenbach death scene. Very picturesque. No, Holmes doesn't die here either, but the way he re-appears (though Watson is still unaware after the film ends) is priceless and very funny too.
All in all, I'd recommend the film, though it's definitely not for people who expect the director to be faithful to ACD's works. As long as you don't mind the comic-book nature of the movie, it's two hours of good entertainment.
Rating: 3.5/5. Oh OK, 4/5