Very Disappointing

Rating: 2/10 (28 December 2011)

I lapped up Arthur Conan Doyle's works in my younger years and had recently begun re- reading them. However that is not to say that I am a Sherlock purist, far from it. I thoroughly enjoyed the BBC's recent take on Sherlock and am anxiously awaiting the beginning of the new series. Much the same can be said for Guy Ritchie's first exploit. I rated it as the best film of that year, enjoying the mix of the occult, to the back beat of Victorian London. Mark Strong portrayed a master villain who death and unease followed. There was then the balancing act that was Holmes and Watson. Jude Laws character being more than a blundering side kick and in some ways equal to Robert Downey Junior's Holmes.
Fast forward to two years later to this afternoon when I sat down in the cinema to watch A Game Of Shadows, full of hope, awaiting two hours of sterling entertainment, sadly I left somewhat disappointed to say the least.
All the negative reviews that I have read so far echo what I am about to write. If you are a small child looking for a film with multiple explosions and slow motion "bullet time" effects then you are in luck. However, if you are looking for a sequel that continues in the vein of the first film, regarding the worlds foremost detective, then you, like me, will be sadly disappointed. Gone is the ingenious Holmes analytical deduction, with a rich multi layered plot, only to be replaced with overly long fights sequences, more akin to Steven Seagal or John Claude Van Damme. The irony being that I am a keen martial artist and I was extremely impressed with the sequences in the first film. However, in the first film they were used sparingly, adding to the characters arsenal of brains and brawn, thus keeping the integrity of the film intact. Unfortunately this is not the case in this sequel. Holmes relying more upon his fighting prowess, as opposed to the art of deduction.
Characters on the periphery of the plot, such as Simza's Anarchist brother and the Anarchist leader are not seized upon and examined, leaving a thin plot, anorexic. But leads the way for a special effects 'fest' following our heroes through the forest, pursued by Moriaty's forces.
The only scene I did enjoy was the 'mano-a-mano' scene between Holmes and Moriarty towards the conclusion, however at the same time I found this frustrating as it was an insight into what A Game Of Shadows could (should.!) have been.
From the opening credits it was clear that this was going to be darker than its predecessor, especially when one the previous main characters is killed off. Although I liked the character, I was impressed by the bold move of the writers and was waiting for the emerging of a bold new character in Noomi Rapace's Simza. Unfortunately Simza is a one-dimensional character, who was easily forgotten and need not have even been there, save for the penultimate 'brother' scene in the film.
In Sherlock Holmes, Mark Strong gave a stellar performance as Lord Blackwood, the lead villain. However the seedling of Moriaty's character was always in the background, in some ways waiting to eclipse Blackwood as the "villain of all villains". Unfortunately Jared Harris's Moriaty fails to deliver on all counts. There is no presence and no conviction. A poor choice, with poor delivery. Another irony being the Mark Strong would have been one of the ideal candidates to play the character of Moriarty.
The domestic relationship between Holmes and Watson added to the charm of the first instalment and in my opinion Jude Law elevated Watson's character, however in this sequel, as some have already commented, it is bordering on homo erotic and as such the definition of the characters is lost. Doyle's original creation was fond of donning disguises to aid him in his investigations, however this is 'dialled up to eleven" in the sequel, resulting in the cringe worthy 'seat' disguise at the conclusion of the film.
All in all an extremely disappointing sequel to one of the best films I have seen in the last five years.