Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Vlad Piranha

To be honest, I thought the 2009 Sherlock Holmes was a disappointment. The plot seemed pretty bizarre and, at times, convoluted. I didn't care for the villain and felt bored overall. That's why, to my amazement, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was a great film. Not since The Dark Knight has a film completely surpassed its predecessor in every conceivable way. I was worried earlier this month that there would be no good Christmas season movies. I'm thrilled to be wrong.

Much like Batman Begins, a brief moment at the end of the first Sherlock Holmes film foreshadows the events of this one. It's a tale that fans of classical literature will recognize immediately. Professor James Moriarty is a wealthy, powerful and highly respected scholar with a genius level intellect. In spite of his connections to the government and adoration at his college, Holmes believes that recent episodes of violence and political upheaval are Moriarty's handiwork. From the very opening of the film, it's made abundantly clear that Moriarty is a villain, but the joy of the storyline is in unraveling his intentions. Bombs, assassinations and crooked business dealings all have a very specific purpose that Holmes must discover in order to bring Moriarty's end game to ruin.

The best part of the film is characterization. While Robert Downey Jr's Holmes is a flamboyant and eccentric genius who delights in his own brilliance, Jared Harris' portrayal of James Moriarty is very cold, calculating and dead serious at almost all times. He is calm and slow to anger, yet is capable of incredible ruthlessness. He doesn't seem to take any real pleasure from the deeds he commits. Like Holmes, it is implied that simply playing his game is what he enjoys: his mind is like a weapon and he does horrible things simply because he knows he can. The interaction between Holmes and Moriarty is when things become interesting. Holmes' manner, normally cheerful and glib even in a fist fight, becomes very cautious and shows fear in Moriarty's presence. Moriarty, normally so calm and businesslike, shows a rare life and enthusiasm in his eyes when speaking to his foe, delighting in his having found a worthy opponent.

This is an A film, guys. One of the best things about this movie is that seeing the 2009 one isn't totally necessary. While it gives you a bit more insight into a few things, the plot of the first movie is not discussed in this one and the supporting cast from it only makes brief appearances. It stands on its own quite nicely. Just know that it's worth the ticket price.

atatme · Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 3:19 pm Post subject:

Glad to hear it! I was entertained by the first movie because I enjoyed the character of Holmes quite a bit, but like you said it was overall disappointing. (Also, how do you justify running through sewers and then all of a sudden you are in the middle of the London bridge?) Glad to hear the new one is good, I'll have to find someone to go see it with

xsupermage · Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 7:04 am Post subject:

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