Vaughn On Movies – The World's Toughest Movie Critic™

The central concern that kept me from seeing the prior Holmes film was the obvious deviation from the established lore. Holmes, the calculating detective fist fighting in slowmo was enough of a turn off in a crowded December. Though Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows confirmed much of my suspicions, it also managed to deliver excitement, intrigue, and humor.

The genius detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his assistant Dr. Watson (Jude Law) are pitted against the diabolical super criminal Professor Moriarty. The two heroes befriend Madam Simza Heron (Noomi Rapace), a gypsy whose brother may be at the center of Moriarty’s shadowy scheme.

Director Guy Ritchie returns, as does his Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels style returns with jarring editing. There’s plenty of action, which is fine for entertaining a crowd but not something one would hope to see out of Sherlock Holmes, a literary character who most certainly didn’t rely on guns and Jackie Chan-esque fighting mechanics. Downey is so many things that Holmes isn’t that the characters name could almost be dropped. Almost. Much of the madness comes from the capability of Holmes to foresee the outcome of a fight, and though I grew tired of the device it does pay off. The plot unravels in faithful fashion and there’s certainly more charm in the overtly condescending tone of Holmes than usual. A joke is made over how he can be one step ahead at all times of the movie, allowing Holmes to set traps before his enemies can get a foot out the door.

In a manner similar to Abram’s Star Trek (2009), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a telling suited to today’s audience. There are liberties taken, but most of them help to showcase a cohesive theme. Holmes is to my surprise a master of disguise, but not in any practical sense. He’s able to apply crude makeup that gets the job done to comedic effect. What may appear as absurd in introduction will ultimately serve to foreshadow a later joke. Holmes has something against riding horses, so he has a car and later a mule. Some of the changes amount to a sensory overload, but it’s in good fun. **½