Holiday Blockbuster

Movie: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

My Rating: 4 stars

Here’s another fun movie for the holiday season.  I didn’t find the sequel to be nearly as exciting as the first movie, but that may be because I kinda knew what to expect.  The first one was such a cool and different, new spin on the old, stodgy Sherlock Holmes stories, and I was very impressed.  Well, it’s not that the stories were dull.  It’s just that previous interpretations of them have been a bit dry in the past.  But, you can only be surprised by a new idea once.  Plus, since seeing the first movie, I also got to watch the new, modern-day Sherlock TV series.  That show is also pretty awesome, by the way.  But, I knew to expect something a little thrilling and edgy, with a wee bit of dark humor thrown in for good measure.

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are really hilarious together.  Downey has always had a sort of rakish charm, but I think Jude Law really came into his own in these films.  I find him way funnier when he’s playing the uptight, exasperated sidekick, as opposed to the smooth leading man.  But, best of all, these two actors really work as these characters.  They’ve got the right mix of competence and eccentricity between them, and it’s really entertaining.  You can’t always trust casting directors to make the right decisions.  Sometimes they are way more interested in bankable names than actors who are really right for a particular role.  I’m wondering if this has anything to do with why the producers decided to edge out Rachel McAdams.  I thought she was pretty sassy as Irene Adler, and they totally could have kept her around.  She only makes the briefest appearance in the beginning of the movie before being quickly disposed of.  I’m not sure whether the decision to can her was a political decision, or a story-based one.  Who knows?  Maybe she was something of a third wheel while they were introducing a new, mysterious love interest with Noomi Rapace.

This is a super fun movie, and it’s definitely worth seeing in the theater.  In this episode, Sherlock goes up against the evil Dr. Moriarti, his most infamous opponent.  That means that this mystery a bit more of a challenge than last time, and Sherlock doesn’t always have the upper hand.  This makes for a lot more excitement and suspense.  Definitely check it out.