Film Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace,
Kelly Reilly, Rachel McAdams, Jared Harris, and Stephen Fry
Watch the trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace,
Kelly Reilly, Rachel McAdams, Jared Harris, and Stephen Fry
Watch the trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
(source: trailers)
I recently saw Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (sequel to 2009's Sherlock Holmes <--- click the link to read my review!) and I must say, I loved and enjoyed watching it as much as I loved and enjoyed watching the first one. Great movie! It had all the action (plenty more in this sequel than the first), humor (mostly from Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes), fun and mysterious games between Holmes and Moriarty, great chemistry and banter between Holmes and Watson, slow-mo fight scenes, and more! This film was a lot more fun to watch too this time around. I've been waiting to see this sequel since I've heard of it being made. It was more than I expected and it didn't disappoint!
The awesome and very talented Robert Downey Jr. is back reprising his witty and very clever, genius hero Sherlock Holmes character. He was just fun and amazing to watch in this film, as usual. I love RDJ! He's such a great actor and one of those few who are just great at what they do no matter what role he plays, he's always good. Jude Law's back as well as Dr. John Watson along with two other familiar faces from the first film such as Rachel McAdams (who interestingly appeared in quite a small role, a lil' more than her supposedly brief cameo role for this film at the beginning, but her fate was left somewhat ambiguous...I wanted to see more of her though...still nice to see continuity and her) as Irene Adler and Kelly Reilly (even though she, again, didn't have a lot of screen time like the first movie, but unlike the first movie, she did appear a bit more in some important and interesting scenes and had more to do in this one. Not too mention, her character was pivotal and quite useful to Holmes and Watson towards the end...which had a very interesting twist to it) as Mary Morstan Watson, who played Law's character Watson's love interest in the first film. Their characters' wed in the second film with an interesting wedding scene where Watson, the groom and Holmes, the best man were not quite dressed up appropriately for the wedding, lol. Thankfully, the wedding ceremony took place without any odd incident for the newlyweds.
The awesome and very talented Robert Downey Jr. is back reprising his witty and very clever, genius hero Sherlock Holmes character. He was just fun and amazing to watch in this film, as usual. I love RDJ! He's such a great actor and one of those few who are just great at what they do no matter what role he plays, he's always good. Jude Law's back as well as Dr. John Watson along with two other familiar faces from the first film such as Rachel McAdams (who interestingly appeared in quite a small role, a lil' more than her supposedly brief cameo role for this film at the beginning, but her fate was left somewhat ambiguous...I wanted to see more of her though...still nice to see continuity and her) as Irene Adler and Kelly Reilly (even though she, again, didn't have a lot of screen time like the first movie, but unlike the first movie, she did appear a bit more in some important and interesting scenes and had more to do in this one. Not too mention, her character was pivotal and quite useful to Holmes and Watson towards the end...which had a very interesting twist to it) as Mary Morstan Watson, who played Law's character Watson's love interest in the first film. Their characters' wed in the second film with an interesting wedding scene where Watson, the groom and Holmes, the best man were not quite dressed up appropriately for the wedding, lol. Thankfully, the wedding ceremony took place without any odd incident for the newlyweds.
A few new interesting characters and actors added some fun and solid performances to the main characters in this film including Noomi Rapace (best known as the lead actress for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy films, which was the first and Swedish version of the same title novels adapted to the big screen...she did pretty good here) as Madam Simza, a mysterious ally to Holmes and Watson; Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes, older brother of Sherlock Holmes (who often calls Holmes "Sherly," and had a surprisingly funny scene, which I won't spoil here, lol); and Jared Harris as Professor James Moriarty, who was the main antagonist and very fearsome adversary to RDJ's protagonist Sherlock Holmes.
There were lots of interesting, fun, and memorable scenes in this film that I really enjoyed watching such as the forest slow-mo scene where Holmes and Watson were running for their lives, the train scene (as seen in the trailer) with the newlyweds Watson and his new bride Mary with Holmes in one of his disguises, this time in a drag costume, lol. Loved his line when Watson angrily punched and yelled at him for throwing off his new bride off the train and into the river and he said, "Did you just kill my new wife?" and Holmes replied, "I timed it perfectly." LOL! Also, loved Holmes and Watson's banter and witty dialogue in this film like in one of the scenes where Holmes was looking at Watson's gun and said, "Get that out of my face!" Watson replied, "It's not in your face, it's in my hand," to which Holmes said, "Get what's in your hand out of my face!" And another one of their hilarious banter lines in a scene where Watson was watching Sherlock drinking embalming fluid and he said, "You're drinking embalming fluid?" Holmes replied and said, "Yes, care for a drop?" and the rest of their witty lines where they tried to finished each others sentences goes on like this...
Watson: You do seem...
Holmes: Excited?
Watson: Manic.
Holmes: I am.
Watson: Verging on...
Holmes: Ecstatic?
Watson: Psychotic...
Watson: I should've brought you a sedative.
LOL! I thought that was hilarious! Very clever and witty dialogue and great timing of their delivery of those funny lines by both RDJ and Law. These two really had a great on-screen, sidekick chemistry. They make a great team. I enjoyed watching them in the first movie and even more so in this sequel. They were both amazing and fun to watch in this film. Their supporting co-stars such as Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Kelly Reilly, Rachel McAdams, and Stephen Fry were all great too and added solid performances of their own in their individual performances. Plus the little chess match scene between Holmes and Moriarty was just brilliant and epic to watch at the same time! Very chilling and suspense!
Overall, Sherlock Holmes 2 was awesome, very entertaining and a lot of fun to watch (my kind of movie and probably more superior than the first one)! Great sequel to the first Sherlock Holmes movie! Great casting (for the newest addition and returning cast), solid and superior acting (esp. from RDJ, Law, and Harris), great writing, clever plot, suspense, with witty and memorable dialogues (including the ones I've listed above), great used of slow-mo style of some fight scenes in this film...pretty much everything. Guy Ritche did a great job directing too. Awesome cinematography and visual effects with those slow-mo fight scenes. Just all-around amazing and fun, action, suspense comedy, adventure...all in one film! I highly recommend you see it, if you haven't already especially if you loved the first movie. You'll love and enjoy this one as well...and probably even more! Go see it!
There were lots of interesting, fun, and memorable scenes in this film that I really enjoyed watching such as the forest slow-mo scene where Holmes and Watson were running for their lives, the train scene (as seen in the trailer) with the newlyweds Watson and his new bride Mary with Holmes in one of his disguises, this time in a drag costume, lol. Loved his line when Watson angrily punched and yelled at him for throwing off his new bride off the train and into the river and he said, "Did you just kill my new wife?" and Holmes replied, "I timed it perfectly." LOL! Also, loved Holmes and Watson's banter and witty dialogue in this film like in one of the scenes where Holmes was looking at Watson's gun and said, "Get that out of my face!" Watson replied, "It's not in your face, it's in my hand," to which Holmes said, "Get what's in your hand out of my face!" And another one of their hilarious banter lines in a scene where Watson was watching Sherlock drinking embalming fluid and he said, "You're drinking embalming fluid?" Holmes replied and said, "Yes, care for a drop?" and the rest of their witty lines where they tried to finished each others sentences goes on like this...
Watson: You do seem...
Holmes: Excited?
Watson: Manic.
Holmes: I am.
Watson: Verging on...
Holmes: Ecstatic?
Watson: Psychotic...
Watson: I should've brought you a sedative.
LOL! I thought that was hilarious! Very clever and witty dialogue and great timing of their delivery of those funny lines by both RDJ and Law. These two really had a great on-screen, sidekick chemistry. They make a great team. I enjoyed watching them in the first movie and even more so in this sequel. They were both amazing and fun to watch in this film. Their supporting co-stars such as Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Kelly Reilly, Rachel McAdams, and Stephen Fry were all great too and added solid performances of their own in their individual performances. Plus the little chess match scene between Holmes and Moriarty was just brilliant and epic to watch at the same time! Very chilling and suspense!
Overall, Sherlock Holmes 2 was awesome, very entertaining and a lot of fun to watch (my kind of movie and probably more superior than the first one)! Great sequel to the first Sherlock Holmes movie! Great casting (for the newest addition and returning cast), solid and superior acting (esp. from RDJ, Law, and Harris), great writing, clever plot, suspense, with witty and memorable dialogues (including the ones I've listed above), great used of slow-mo style of some fight scenes in this film...pretty much everything. Guy Ritche did a great job directing too. Awesome cinematography and visual effects with those slow-mo fight scenes. Just all-around amazing and fun, action, suspense comedy, adventure...all in one film! I highly recommend you see it, if you haven't already especially if you loved the first movie. You'll love and enjoy this one as well...and probably even more! Go see it!
My Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Film Rating: 
! (10/10; A+)
! (10/10; A+)
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