Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Review

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is the sequel to 2009’s Sherlock Holmes, both directed by Guy Ritchie. A Game of Shadows features the first appearance in this film series of Holmes’s most legendary antagonist, professor James Moriarty, played by Jared Harris, adding to an already stellar cast, including Jude Law as Dr John Watson and Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes himself. Holmes attempts to put a stop to Moriarty’s vile machinations before they reach their crescendo, as Moriarty attempts to start a world war, so that he may supply arms to the nations involved, leaving him very, very wealthy.

Am I the only one who feels that the whole “start a war, sell weapons to everybody in the war… profit?” idea has been done to death and beyond at this stage? As unoriginal, and at times convoluted as the plot may be, it still had me more interested than the first film’s efforts, although by a fairly narrow margin.

Ultimately, A Game of Shadows, whilst being a slight improvement over the first, still suffers from all the same problems that stopped it’s predecessor reaching any sort of memorable status. Namely, while Robert Downey Jr. has only improved and evolved following what was already a very impressive performance as Holmes, and while Jude Law does a great job as Watson, they still don’t really have anything interesting to do. Given that Moriarty is supposed to be one of the most intelligent, brilliant criminals of all time, Holmes’s equal in many regards, the fact that the story really couldn’t have been a little more creative was a real disappointment.

As with the first instalment, the question must be asked: what would the film had if Robert Downey Jr was taken out of the main role? The answer, as with last time, seems to be: not much. That said, I like Jared Harris as Moriarty, he is believable as someone possessing genius level intellect, and the films best scenes centre around the intellectual tussle between Moriarty and Holmes. However, when Moriarty isn’t on screen, there isn’t that sense that he really is pulling the strings behind the scenes, as many memorable antagonists have had in the past.

Another problem is the films action scenes. The choreography is fine, and Holmes’s clairvoyant like planning out of an entire skirmish is still entertaining, but they are shot in a way that makes it extremely difficult to keep up with what’s going on. It isn’t so much the speed of the cuts, it’s more the camera angles, the camera seems to be jumping all over the place, and it’s difficult to readjust your eyes before the camera cuts again. It results in a jarring experience, and makes the action, well choreographed as it is, difficult to keep up with.

Did I enjoy a game of shadows? Yes. Do I recommend it? Tentatively, yes. Had it wanted to be more than a typical action film, it could have been, and it means that the film wastes a lot of it’s potential. That said, if all you want is to kill a few hours, then Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows will do the job better than a lot of films in the action genre, and you should check it out.

Overall: 63/100