Today’s quick review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and his partner John Watson (Jude Law) are on the trail of a criminal mastermind. A series of seemingly unconnected accidents, crimes, and geopolitical events paint a picture that only Holmes can see. After months of investigation he believes he has found the culprit: Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris). But uncovering Moriarty’s plans and stopping them are two different challenges. Holmes and Watson follow their investigation across Europe in a race to thwart Moriarty before his plan comes to fruition.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is the sequel to the 2009 Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downey, Jr. Guy Ritchie returns as director, bringing his punchy style and wry sense of humor with him. The tone and characters are largely unchanged from the first movie. Watson once again plays foil to the erratic Holmes, complementing the detective’s peculiar approach to life with a desire for normalcy. Their partnership is strained by Watson’s impending marriage, and the prospect that Holmes might lose his constant companion to domestic life makes him petulant. Holmes takes on a more desperate tone as his investigation into Moriarty turns dangerous. The threat this time is not just that he will take a bullet or let a criminal get away, but that he will be outwitted entirely.
Unlike the previous movie, the plot of A Game of Shadows is structured in stages. Where Sherlock Holmes rests on one large mystery and saves its resolution for the end, A Game of Shadows introduces and resolves a series of smaller mysteries along the way. In practical terms, this means that the audience has enough information to follow the mysteries and make guesses at the cost of the weighty climax that the first film had. Otherwise, A Game of Shadows is quite similar to its predecessor in terms of tone and quality. It lacks some of the originality of seeing this take on the character for the first time, but the execution is just as strong, the difference in plot structure keeps the series from becoming formulaic, and a few new twists on the conceits of the first film make A Game of Shadows a competent sequel.
Watch Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows if you enjoyed the first entry in the series, or if you enjoy quirky humor, mystery, and Victorian action. Holmes’ visualizations are as interesting as ever, Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law make a great team, and Guy Ritchie once again makes good use of his expanded budget. Skip it if you prefer more conventional adaptations of the character or you dislike Robert Downey, Jr.’s brand of humor.
7.5 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 as well for being a fun, inventive adaptation of a classic character and for being a sequel that’s on par with the original.