Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) entertains, intrigues, and amuses, but becomes too frantic for its own good.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
2011
128 minutes
rated PG-13

by Scott Mendelson

There are times when this second Guy Ritchie-helmed Sherlock Holmes adventure threatens to become what the first film was advertised as.  The first picture, if you recall, was marketed as an all-action, all-comedy, huge tent-pole adventure that just happened to feature the world's most famous detective (teaser and trailer).  In fact, the 2009 Sherlock Holmes (review) was an often quiet and contemplative character piece, a genuine mystery drama that had moments of big budget spectacle.  This new film tries its hand with the 'bigger is better' philosophy, to varying degrees of success.  The action is more frequent and of a larger scale, and the characters are less mournful and introspective this time around.  But what's lost in the fury and bombast is gained with an upping of the stakes, both personal and external.  Oddly enough, the highlight of the last picture, the relationship between Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, becomes almost a distraction this time around, taking time away from what should be the primary attraction - the battle of wits between Sherlock Holmes and Professor James Moriarty.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows gets a needlessly busy trailer.

It is no secret that I was not a fan of the marketing campaign for the first Sherlock Holmes.  But that action-packed "EXTREME" campaign was a clever disguise for what actually turned out to be a relatively traditional and character driven Holmes adventure.  So on one hand, I should give this trailer the benefit of the doubt, as the previous film was one of those rare pictures where the movie was far better than the trailer.  On the other hand, this is a pointlessly hectic and frantic piece, full of context-less action and would-be incident.  This is a sequel to a pretty popular original, a film that grossed $525 million worldwide despite going head-to-head with Avatar over Christmas 2009 (on a $90 million budget no less).  Point being, the marketing department should have a little confidence in their franchise.  The ingredients worked well the first time around, and the addition of Noomi Rapace and Jared Harris (as Professor James Moriarty) in lieu of bigger names shows a degree of trust in the storytelling.  Thus the nonstop gunplay and unfortunate emphasis on a cross-dressing Robert Downey Jr. feel desperate where no desperation should be felt.  Frankly, the biggest obstacle that this film will likely have to deal with (especially if Paramount moves Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol away from the December 16th release date) will be the snobby comparisons to the terrific BBC miniseries Sherlock that premiered in the US late last year.  I happen to think both this Guy Ritchie series and the BBC modernization are fine adaptations of a classic fictional character.  May they both be artistic and commercial successes.  The game will be afoot on December 16th and, as always, we'll see.  Your thoughts below...

Scott Mendelson  

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows gets character posters... Enter Moriarty!

I'm guessing we'll see two more of these, with the character placement respectively reversed.  The highlight of course is what appears to be a token glance of Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty.  The teaser trailer will be attached to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II this Friday.  Enjoy...

Scott Mendelson