Bigger Action Holmes

Rating: 7/10 (8 January 2012)

The thing about Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is it's designed more as an action film than a mystery. The first film shows many strange new things to Sherlock Holmes. Making him a fighter with a brilliant mind. It's a great innovation to the character. In this new film, things just got bigger, louder, and more action packed than ever. The film still has the brains but the plot is discombobulated by the non-stop action scenes. The action is really good but it loses the focus to the plot. Though, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are still fun to watch together and the filmmaking is solid. It's probably enjoyable enough as a blockbuster film.
The first film already introduced Moriarty. We get to know more of him in this sequel. It shows how threatening and menacing he is. The story is quite clever to show all of his schemes. Just like in the first film, Holmes does his thing. Disguising, predicting his fighting, and other stuff. Interesting thing here is his defiance between him and Moriarty. The action is impressively exciting but it makes the plot somewhat plodding. The best moments goes to the relationship of Holmes and Watson. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law have a fascinating chemistry which lightens film.
The action is bigger here than the first one. It's more than just martial arts fighting. The film has larger scale and louder explosions. Guy Ritchie did a clever move to these scenes. Giving plenty of momentum and thrills. The performances are good as always. Like what I said, Downey Jr. and Law are both fun together. Stephen Fry is delightful. Jared Harris works better as Moriarty than the one from the first film. The problem of the first Moriarty was he sounded like Mark Strong which made it feel like he is another Blackwood. Harris gives a sly menace to the role. Makes it fascinating. The rest of the filmmaking, the production design is decent and Hans Zimmer's music still nails all the scenes and really fits perfectly to the series.
I don't know what will Sir Arthur Conan Doyle think about these movies. He will might remain perplexed by what the filmmakers has done to his works. It's never a bad thing but it feels extraneous to the character. It's still enjoyable and clever. We still enjoy Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes. This is the new Holmes now. It has loud explosions and loud excitement. But it could have used more better mystery which it lacks in these films. Then again, this is just a blockbuster that wants to make things louder and smarter.