Review: Sherlock Homes and the Game of Shadows

Good day all, it’s been a while since my last review, and I just saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie, The Game of Shadows.

As usual, I went to Chunky’s and had a nice dinner. Dinner consisted of Steak Tips, (Medium), Chicken Fries and a salad. (Blue Cheese dressing) I also had a 16oz Sam Adam seasonal with dinner. The theater wasn’t full, probably due to this being a Sunday night and people having to go to work the next day. The service this time was much better.

Now to the movie.

This is the second Sherlock Holmes movie staring Robert Downey Jr. I did not see the first film in the theater and watched some of it on DirecTV. When it comes on again I’ll pay more attention. Now, just to be clear, these movies have as much in common with the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as I do with President Obama. In other words, we both live in the United States, but not much else.

The plot does use some of Doyle’s work of course, but there are bits in this movie that are right out of the director’s drug besotted brain. (Ok, he probably wasn’t stoned)

Now, I will be doing spoilers so if you don’t want to know what happens, hang up now or forever hold your tongue. 🙂

The film opens with Holmes in disguise. He confronts Irene Adler, (Rachael McAdams), who became rather close to Holmes in the first movie, (And the novels), and takes a letter from her. It turns out that Adler is working for Professor James Moriarty. (Jared Harris) When Irene meets with Moriarty, he inform her that due to her relationship with Holmes, he will no longer require her services. Irene gets up to leave, and collapses. Moriarty has poisoned her.

Another subplot in the movie is Doctor Watson’s, (Jude Law), marriage to Mary, (Kelly Reilly). Holmes is not to happy that Dr. Watson will not be involved in Holmes’s investigations. During Watson’s bachelor party, Holmes rescues another target of Moriarty, a gypsy named (Noomi Rapace). There is a big fight with an assassin whom Holmes defeats.

Holmes and Watson arrive at the church for Watson’s wedding. Dr. Watson is horribly hung over from the previous night, but Holmes gets him into the church for the wedding. After the ceremony, Holmes meets with Moriarty. They do the usual dance of two very brilliant people, and Holmes informs Moriarty that Dr. Watson is out of the game and is not involved in what will be taking place between the two of them. Moriarty tells Holmes that if he persists, Watson and his new wife will be killed.

Holmes, of course, can’t leave well enough alone and gets on the honeymoon train. The Watsons are attacked and Mary Watson manages to throw the attacker off the train. Holmes then makes an appearance in disguise. His disguise? A woman. I will say, that like Holmes, this wasn’t one of his better ones. Downey does NOT look good in a dress. 😉

Holmes explains the threat to Watson and when Dr. Watson isn’t looking, throws his new bride off the train. She lands in a river and is picked up by Holmes brother Mycroft.

Now the silliness of the director gets going. Other attackers start a gun fight on the train and finally open up with a Maxim gun ((Maxim Gun)). This is plain nonsense as anyone at all familiar with this gun understands it’s not something you can just set up in a small, cramped railway car. The Director, Guy Ritchie, needs to have a series of reality injections.

After Holmes and Watson wipe out the attackers, they go to Paris to find Moriarty and stop his nefarious plot to start a world war. There’s lots of investigating, running and stuff culminating in Holmes making a mistake. The mistake ends up with a bomb going off and a number of industialists killed. As Holmes investigates the blast site, he notes that one of the victims was actually shot and deduces the blast was set off to cover for the shooting.

Watson, Sim and Holmes track down where the shot was fired and determine that it was done by an expert marksman. (The shot was over 600 yards, which is nothing for today’s rifles, but back then would be a feat) Watson figures out who the sniper would have to be, a man named Colonel Sebastian Moran (Paul Anderson). Moran had been dishonorably discharged from the British Army.

Holmes determines that the man who was shot was a major arms dealer. It turns out that Moriarty is not the majority owner of that company. Holmes and Watson along with Sim and a few gypsy’s sneak across the border and infiltrate the factory.

Holmes is captured by Moriarty who proceeds to torture him. (Hangs Holmes with a meat hook through his right shoulder) Moriarty, in true Evil Villain style, tells Holmes his plans to start a war and then sell arms. Munitions and medical supplies. Meanwhile, Doctor Watson is trying to avoid getting shot by Moran who is in a tower above the building Holmes and Moriarty are in. Watson ends up in a building with this really big cannon. He uses that to blast the tower, howver Moran sees what’s abot to happen and gets away.

Watson digs Holmes out of the rubble and they begin their escape with Sim and the gypsys. The German guards start shooting and here is where more of Ritchie’s silliness comes into play.

When Holmes, Watson and Sim get outside of the factory the Guards start shelling them with artillery. They are shooting almost directly into the trees. Ritchie then goes into full Matrix Mode with lots of slow motion explosions and rotating camera angles. That worked great in The Matrix, but here? Please, this was completely unnecessary and really broke the rhythm of the movie. I won’t go into how stupid it was to have siege cannon doing direct fire into trees. ((Modern Siege Cannon))

After the obligatory harrowing escape and the near death of Holmes, the trio head off to the secret peace conference. Holmes has determined that Sim’s brother has had plastic surgery and is masquerading as one of the diplomats.

While Watson and Sim try to figure out which one is Sim’s brother, Holmes engages in a battle of wits with Moriarty on a balcony overlooking a massive waterfall. They start playing a game of chess that rapidly leaves the board and is played virtually. Inside, Watson and Sim find and stop Sim’s brother who is taken into custody and escorted from the conference. As he is leaving, Moran shows up and put a poison dart into him. Watson and Sim race after the guards and Watson tries to save Sim’s brother but it is to late.

Watson heads towards the balcony where Holmes and Moriarty are talking. Moriarty tells Holmes that it doesn’t matter that he has lost this round, war is coming and he can wait. Holmes then tells Moriairty that he was able to switch out the notebook with all of Moriarty’s bank records and that Watson’s wife and “The most incompetent detective ever,” Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), and that all of Moriarty’s wealth is being confiscated.

Holmes and Moriarty start mentally working out how a fight between them will proceed. Holmes, realizing that due to his injury, can’t win such a fight, so he jumps Moriarty and drags him off the balcony. Holmes and Moriarty are last seen by Dr. Watson plummeting to their doom at the bottom of the mist filled canyon.

Back in London, Dr. Watson is finishing up a manuscript when his wife comes in with a package. She tells him to get ready since they are about to leave on their delayed honeymoon. Watson opens the package and finds an item that belonged to Holmes. Watson leaves the room to find out from Mary if it was the regular postman who delivered the package or another one.

Suddenly there is a motion from a chair and Holmes, wearing a disguise that looks like the chair, stands up, walks over to the typewriter and looks at the manuscript. He makes one small change to it, a subtle clue for Watson to fine.

The clue?

The End ?

Now that I have spoiled the movie for you, would I recommend that you see it. The answer is yes. I liked it and I was entertained. This is my criteria for a film. Does it entertain me? I’m not going to movies for social commentary or justice or any of that junk. I’m going to see a movie to escape my current reality for a few hours. In this, Sherlock Holmes and the Game of Shadows succeeded.

One final thing. Stephen Fry walking around naked is NOT something I want to see right after eating. :p
Be Forwarned!

Next, Mission Impossible 4.

That’s all folks!

~The Angry Webmaster~

(4 votes, average: 1.00 out of 5)

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