Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows – Review
Sequels can be a tricky thing. It’s no wonder why studios love them so much as you can ride the gravy train of a successful movie for much longer. The problem is that there are just so many things that can go wrong. The original Sherlock Holmes film was a good movie and did quite well so the question of whether a sequel would be made invariably came up. Well, a few years later and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is out and it looks to be the rare instance where a sequel is done right.
These days it seems like the most popular approach to sequels is the ‘make as many films as possible’ approach. This often is a guarantee of a trilogy. The story has been repeated many times. A movie does well, so the studio plans and does the next two where the second film serves to open up a bigger and deeper plot and also will likely end with a strong lead in to the finale in the third film. The best example of how this can go wrong is with the Pirates movies. The first one was great. We got to meet a new, enjoyable character and have some laughs while watching some light-hearted adventuring. Then came the next couple films which tried to make everything bigger and more deep. While still enjoyable, the fresh and jovial taste of the first film wasn’t quite there anymore.
With that being said, A Game of Shadows managed to progress the narrative and still retain it’s charm. Things moved forward, but not in a way that fundamentally changed who the characters are or how they behave. An even better positive for the film is that it really could stand on its own. This film would be good and enjoyable if it were the only Sherlock Holmes film. It did not do well simply riding on its predecessor’s coattails.
A big question I had at the end of the film was wondering where things will go next. I feel like I am constantly bombarded by never-ending sequels and yet this second film was not simply a setup for part 3 – it didn’t really even leave a big opening for another film. Instead, Holmes possibly took out his great arch-rival. Towards the end I was fully expecting a zero-sum type of finish where Holmes and Watson would prevent war and calamity but Moriarty would escape. Not so. From the ending, they could easily be done and not make any more films, or they might decide to do more. Maybe Robert Downey Jr. already he decided he was done and wasn’t going to make any more, maybe not. That’s one of the great things about the movie – not only was it good, but what comes next is a bit of a mystery.
With all that being said there are still some areas where things could have been better. I think the film would benefit from a more judicious use of slow motion action scenes. The biggest example of this was the seemingly never ending run through the forest as they are being chased by all the soldiers. Ya, it was kind of cool, but it just kept going and going. I think the bigger problem is that where Sherlock Holmes excels is in the small fights that occur in the alley or bar. Giant battles with scores of soldiers and machine guns just sort of seem out of place. There were also some struggles on the comedic front. The dynamics of Holmes and Watson are fantastic, but a lot of the rest of the ensemble fell pretty short. All in all, this is a good movie that you will enjoy. It’s a sequel that for once actually maintains its ability to feel fresh.
