Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

[DarthSkywalker]

I didn't say who or what happened in the spoiler. My statement can be interpreted several ways.

Not really.

Spoiler

By the way, my money is on her somehow surviving. Not sure how but I think she will survive by the skin of her teeth but we won't know about it.

 

[Superhero 101]

Reading the reviews makes me definitely want to go see this movie. Hope it's as great as the first.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Both Empire and Total Film gave the movie 4 out of 5 stars saying it is better than the first movie.

 

[BestGirl]

Both Empire and Total Film gave the movie 4 out of 5 stars saying it is better than the first movie.

Maybe there is hope for this movie.

 

[jacobed]

Since when wasn't there

 

[BestGirl]

Since when wasn't there

Since that first review came out from some guy who compared it to QOS and said it wasn't all that good.

 

[Tony Starkk]

Since that first review came out from some guy who compared it to QOS and said it wasn't all that good.

He still gave the movie a B.

 

[bullets]

Not really.

Spoiler

By the way, my money is on her somehow surviving. Not sure how but I think she will survive by the skin of her teeth but we won't know about it.

That seems plausible. I read the review despite the spoiler and although I was hoping for more of a cat and mouse story , it should still turn out well.

 

[Patzo3000]

Since that first review came out from some guy who compared it to QOS and said it wasn't all that good.

Not trying to sound mean but... one review from someone means there wasn't hope for the movie? Reviews are opinions of the reviewers. Just because one review wasn't completely positive doesn't mean it's true or that you will feel the same.

Personally, O prefer to keep a neutral feeling towards something until I've experienced it for myself.

 

[BestGirl]

He still gave the movie a B.

I didn't actually read the review because I was nervous about being spoiled so I was just going on what someone else on this board said the reviewer wrote.

Not trying to sound mean but... one review from someone means there wasn't hope for the movie? Reviews are opinions of the reviewers. Just because one review wasn't completely positive doesn't mean it's true or that you will feel the same.

Personally, O prefer to keep a neutral feeling towards something until I've experienced it for myself.

It wasn't just one review. The Hollywood Reporter also claimed SH2 was tedious at times and when it got to the climax it "becomes not half-bad", which is rather lukewarm praise.

I would like to be more neutral towards critics' opinions but I find myself agreeing with them more often than not. OTOH, the first SH movie wasn't all that well-received by top critics so this franchise might prove to be a exception.

 

[flickchick85]

It wasn't just one review. The Hollywood Reporter also claimed SH2 was tedious at times and when it got to the climax it "becomes not half-bad", which is rather lukewarm praise.

I would like to be more neutral towards critics' opinions but I find myself agreeing with them more often than not. OTOH, the first SH movie wasn't all that well-received by top critics so this franchise might prove to be a exception.

Well for what it's worth, on top of Empire and Total Film, Variety and HitFix also liked this one better than the first, so that seems to be the majority critical opinion thus far.

Like you, I tend to agree with the critical consensus on most movies, and I still have plenty of hope for this one.

 

[BestGirl]

Well for what it's worth, on top of Empire and Total Film, Variety and HitFix also liked this one better than the first, so that seems to be the majority critical opinion thus far.

Yep. I saw those today. That's why I said I still have high hopes for this movie.

 

[Boom]

I want this to be good. Jared Harris looks great as Moriarty. It'd be an absolute shame if we had a great villain in a ****** film.

 

[kedrell]

So....Drew McWeeny liked it(even moreso that the first). Good.

Devin Faraci didn't like it. That also is good news to me(don't much care for him).

I expect I'll like it at least as much as the first, which I thought was solid and good but not great.

 

[Frodo]

The film has been getting mixed reviews , though they seem to be along the lines of , "The film is good but coulda been great". I'm trying to remember, but didn't the first one get kinda get mixed reviews? I mean, I know the public liked it and , but I don't remember if critics universally loved it. It seemed like one of those films that also had great word of mouth among the audiences as opposed to it being a critical darling.

 

[Lasirius]

I was planning on going to catch the trailer for TDRK and leave afterwards since early-bird tickets are just $5 dollars. If this seems to be good, I'll stay. I just don't remember anything about the first.

 

[marvelrobbins]

I am very curious how Moriarity comes out.Unforturtly the trailer and TV ads only focus on Holmes and Watson.Moriarity Is the first super villain In fiction so I was hoping a good
role for him In this.

 

[kedrell]

The film has been getting mixed reviews , though they seem to be along the lines of , "The film is good but coulda been great". I'm trying to remember, but didn't the first one get kinda get mixed reviews? I mean, I know the public liked it and , but I don't remember if critics universally loved it. It seemed like one of those films that also had great word of mouth among the audiences as opposed to it being a critical darling.

The first got a 70% on RT. That right now is also where the sequel is on RT. So somewhat positive reviews or mixed-to-positive reviews is how I'd characterize them. Got an 81% from the audience so it's safe to say they liked it more than the critics did.

 

[DACrowe]

I don't know. The trailer looks like more of the same and all the reviews, even the positive ones, are saying that they've given up all pretense of mystery-solving and it's now just an action-adventure with one set-piece after another. It has "Dead Man's Chest" syndrome written all over it. I think I may just wait for DVD.

Also, I hear that Noomi Rapace was even MORE wasted in this than Rachel McAdams was in the first one. It seems that Ritchie really can't direct women and in any case that's just such a waste of talent, I'm afraid to say.

 

[kedrell]

I'm gonna watch it for the same reason I enjoyed the first film: RDJ & Jude Law's chemistry and timing(i.e.- when they're bickering like an old married couple). That for me is the driving force behind why I'll watch it. Never had a whole lotta faith in Ritchie, in fact before the first SH movie he'd never made a movie I liked.

 

[A Necessary Evil]

Just got the score, and I love it! Hans has outdone himself! Tick-Tock (shadows 2) is amazing

 

[redhawk23]

Saw this on monday.
The first Sherlock Holmes film for all its action and flare had a very decent mystery at the core of it, with Mark Strong's conspiracy and such. Shrouded in mysticism it was a challenge and foil for the intensely rational Holmes and we got to see him stuggle with it and actually do some investigation.
This film has pretty much none of that. They try to play off Moriarty as enigmatic for all of about 2 seconds. He is both over developed and under exposed. By the time the film starts, Sherlock already knows who Moriarty is, and where he can be found and largely what he is up to. He just doesn't have a way of proving it. It almost seems like this is a poorly played 3rd film in one of those situations where they film the 2 sequels at once like with the Matrix sequels or Pirates of the Caribbean.
I think the Pirates comparison is most apt in this situation, as that is essentially what this film has turned into. RDJ has turned a coked out Sherlock Holmes into the prancing visage of Jack Sparrow. In the first film Sherlock was certainly obnoxious and off kilter and yet he was still the master of rationality and extremely intelligent. We don't really see a lot of that in this film.
I'm a big fan of Jude Law and his interactions with RDJ as Watson and Sherlock are quite entertaining. However their relationship is simply a hoarse and amplified extension of that in the first film (a description which really encapsulates the movie as whole).
Besides Moriarty there are a few new characters.
Moriarty has a sharp shooter and assistant who while cool, is never really quite established, I never caught his name.
Noomie Rapace plays a gypsie who...well she's a gypsie. She has some personal connections to the plot and a few fight scenes but really she doesn't affect anything in real way.
Stephen Frye appears as Mycroft Holmes...and that's about it as well. He has a few lines and blinds the audience (butt that's another matter entirely).
The movie is put together well. Costumes and production design are of high quality. This film steered clear of the crappy cg found in the ship yard fight or the end bridge scenes in the first film. The action is pretty well shot with a very interesting sequence in the woods as seen in the trailers.
There is a lot of talk and metaphors of chess in this film and yet despite this the film never establishes its self as the game of wits it desperately wants and needs to be. Nor are there a lot of shadows. Much of the plot is fairly wide open from the start. While entertaining, I found the movie ultimately unsatisfying. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a mysteriously mystery-less mystery.
Still worth a matinee if you have some time to kill. I give it a 6/10.

 

[redhawk23]

I'm gonna watch it for the same reason I enjoyed the first film: RDJ & Jude Law's chemistry and timing(i.e.- when they're bickering like an old married couple). That for me is the driving force behind why I'll watch it. Never had a whole lotta faith in Ritchie, in fact before the first SH movie he'd never made a movie I liked.

You'll like this one then. They definitely play up the whole old married couple vibe. In fact this movie features a completely unsubtle bromance.

 

[Marvolo]

Im listening to the soundtrack, and track 16 could be a spoiler which is titled[BLACKOUT]Memories of Sherlock. I guess he does "die" with Moriarty at the end.[/BLACKOUT] Damnit, I didn't won't that confirmed before I saw the film.

 

[DACrowe]

Saw this on monday.
The first Sherlock Holmes film for all its action and flare had a very decent mystery at the core of it, with Mark Strong's conspiracy and such. Shrouded in mysticism it was a challenge and foil for the intensely rational Holmes and we got to see him stuggle with it and actually do some investigation.
This film has pretty much none of that. They try to play off Moriarty as enigmatic for all of about 2 seconds. He is both over developed and under exposed. By the time the film starts, Sherlock already knows who Moriarty is, and where he can be found and largely what he is up to. He just doesn't have a way of proving it. It almost seems like this is a poorly played 3rd film in one of those situations where they film the 2 sequels at once like with the Matrix sequels or Pirates of the Caribbean.
I think the Pirates comparison is most apt in this situation, as that is essentially what this film has turned into. RDJ has turned a coked out Sherlock Holmes into the prancing visage of Jack Sparrow. In the first film Sherlock was certainly obnoxious and off kilter and yet he was still the master of rationality and extremely intelligent. We don't really see a lot of that in this film.
I'm a big fan of Jude Law and his interactions with RDJ as Watson and Sherlock are quite entertaining. However their relationship is simply a hoarse and amplified extension of that in the first film (a description which really encapsulates the movie as whole).
Besides Moriarty there are a few new characters.
Moriarty has a sharp shooter and assistant who while cool, is never really quite established, I never caught his name.
Noomie Rapace plays a gypsie who...well she's a gypsie. She has some personal connections to the plot and a few fight scenes but really she doesn't affect anything in real way.
Stephen Frye appears as Mycroft Holmes...and that's about it as well. He has a few lines and blinds the audience (butt that's another matter entirely).
The movie is put together well. Costumes and production design are of high quality. This film steered clear of the crappy cg found in the ship yard fight or the end bridge scenes in the first film. The action is pretty well shot with a very interesting sequence in the woods as seen in the trailers.
There is a lot of talk and metaphors of chess in this film and yet despite this the film never establishes its self as the game of wits it desperately wants and needs to be. Nor are there a lot of shadows. Much of the plot is fairly wide open from the start. While entertaining, I found the movie ultimately unsatisfying. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a mysteriously mystery-less mystery.
Still worth a matinee if you have some time to kill. I give it a 6/10.

That's what I was afraid of. The trailer is all action and puns with no apparent plot or mystery. Sounds like it really is just another Pirates movie with Moriarty, Noomi Rapace and Stephen Fry as window dressing. How sad.