Robert Downey Jr. is SHERLOCK HOLMES (A Game of Shadows)

I enjoyed the film, though I think I might have liked the first one more. This one was a better film, and Jarred Harris was brilliant, but I liked the mystery of the first one more.

 

Saw it this past Friday night, and was completely entertained. A job well done.


Los Angeles Lakers: Drama, guaranteed.

 

I'd have to say, besides getting lucky there at the end, Moriarty pretty much had Holmes on the ropes the entire time--add to that that there was zero way for Holmes to actually win in the long run, and it's hard not to give the Professor the win straight up. I mean, okay, so Holmes managed to clean him out, but it's nothing he wouldn't have replenished given the impending World War and just his general intelligence and sheer volume of ownership in everything.

Oh, and I liked the movie quite a lot. But I'd say that was more to Guy Ritchie than the Sherlock Holmes name. Really, that could have been just about anybody, but if they need to call it Sherlock Holmes to make a late victorian action/adventure movie romp across Europe, I don't mind. It's not like Sherlock Holmes is starved for other material.

 

Went to see this yesterday, and good God, was it awful. I mean, the first one was harmless action fun, but this one managed to deviate even further from the source material, and again it was the characters who suffered the most.

The plot - there was a plot? I never noticed; the whole reason why Holmes went to Madam Simza felt very random. Clearly, the audience wasn't supposed to pay attention to it, but rather admire the EPIC EXPLOSIONS IN SLOW MOTION. Yeah.

Holmes has been reduced to a comic relief (despite being the titular character), who occasionally has a fight.

Watson's character was non-existent.

The brief inclusion of Irene Adler made no sense at all.

Mycroft - WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE WITH MYCROFT, YOU BASTARDS??!!! I love Stephen Fry dearly, but to see Mycroft reduced to a jolly bumbling idiot weirdo was too much (and with all due respect to Stephen's genius mind, the sight of him naked was NOT something I particularly enjoyed. Also, it made no sense). And they call each other "Sherly" and "Myccie"??? WTF???!!!!

The only apparently sane character in this entire mess seemed to be Moriarty, who wasn't half bad. I almost wish he had won, though - like EF said above, Holmes was pretty much saved by luck. One thing I did like, though, was the "mind battle" between Holmes and Moriarty.

Now excuse me while I go clean my brain with the REAL Reichenbach Fall. Thank God for "Sherlock".

 

Well then, based on ^that^ am doubly glad that i decided to avoid it!

 

I agree, it was completely unlike Sherlock and thus should be judged as if I were somehow expecting otherwise.

 

Also, plastic surgery in Victorian England??? Riiiiiight...

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_surgery#History

Admittedly it's impossibly well done for the time, but eh, it's a goofy action movie. My standards of accuracy drop tremendously for those.

 

It is wonderful Holmes hokum. That is all.


-JR

 

I disagree with everything in the post except for Mycroft. I was thinking he would at least have a scene where he perhaps gives Holmes and insight that Holmes had not thought of.

 

Yep...it was basically a buddy cop movie with two guys who happened to be named Sherlock at Watson. It was fun, but I wasn't looking for much.