Movie Review Repost -- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

Remember when Sherlock Holmes movies were a thing? I do. They were both pretty good, entertaining films back in the day. In this day and age it's a wonder why they didn't try to franchise it up and make half a dozen of them. Oh well, at least we've got two fun flicks to look back on and remember. Speaking of which, here's the review I wrote for the second film back in 2011. Enjoy.

  The first new movie I've seen since September, Sherlock Holmes 2 is a fast-paced crime thriller well worth the time and money I spent.

  Like the first film this one takes place in 1891, but rather than just London, Holmes' investigations take him all across Europe to exciting new locations. Holmes and Watson are after a professor who is trying to start an international war by bombing high-profile targets posed as terrorist attacks because he owns several arms contractors and will get rich off a major war. Meanwhile Holmes' and Watson's friendship becomes strained, since in order to recruit Watson – just married – for this investigation Holmes had to interrupt his honeymoon. This two-hour plot has lots of action scenes and more subtle humour than the first Sherlock Holmes movie. Unfortunately, the ending is poorly handled and has some loose threads.

  As with the first film, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law do a top-notch job portraying Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson respectively. The actor playing that French gyspy chick . . . meh. Irene Adler, investigator and love interest to Holmes from the first movie, is back but is killed off early in the film. It's not even a cool death; she dies like a chump.

  I found this film's editing to be astounding, especially during the action scenes where we get that slow-mo “bullet time”. The special effects work well, as do the impressive sound effects/editing. You'll feel as if you are right in the middle of those firefights. One thing that bugged me was the the movie's title. Why give it a subtitle? The first one didn't have one so why not just call it “Sherlock Holmes 2”? Maybe I'm just nitpicking; who knows.

  Despite its comparably minor flaws, Game of Shadows is still a fun and intriguing film. This movie has a little something for everybody. So if you're interested in seeing this one, I'd recommend giving it a try.

Three and a half stars out of five.