Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows Review

Rating: ***1/2

First things first - the second offering of Sherlock Holmes from Guy Ritchie is more of an action flick than being a whodunit. Second, the film is designed more as an unabashed entertainer than the kind that requires you to apply your brains much. And that by itself is quite ironical because the characters as created by Arthur Conan Doyle are supposed to find trapped in situations that require high level of mental involvement. However Guy Ritchie changes the very grammar of story telling here by making the film far less dramatic and much more action and humour laden.

This time around Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) has a job in hand as he has to eradicate nothing less but the possibility of a global war. The best part though is that the man certainly is aware about his skills and strengths, hence being overtly unabashed about the gift (or in his own words - a curse) that he possesses. His steady companion continues to be Jude Law who is reluctant as ever, more so since he has just got married. Also, the cards are laid out at the very beginning with the villain of the piece, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) being revealed to the audience.

There is a global arm dealing involved and to ensure that the respective governments of various European countries wake up the harsh fact that they are being used so that select wheelers and dealers of the continent could make money from war, Holmes begins his one point agenda - one man against the perpetrators of war. Of course he does what he is best at - add humour to his problem solving but not before he has indulged in some dare devil action that continues to accompany him from the very opening till the last sequence of the film.

'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows' is the kind of film that sets mood for the audience from the very beginning. The prologue is set quite well as Holmes fights off a bunch of henchmen who attack him in one of those dingy London by-lanes. Mind reading of fighting technique is brought to fore once again, as was the case in the first instalment, with slow motion actions describing what's pretty much in the offering and then a quick point-in-time action sequence pretty much executing what was being planned all this while. You hail in unison and are set for the story that unfolds.

With all important characters related to the plot being introduced in the very first 30 minutes, you do expect the drama to elevate from this point on. Well, now this is where a slight problem lies because after a well set plot, there is surprisingly not much movement in the narrative. Oh yes, there is a familiar banter between Downey Jr. and Law coupled with a few action sequences but all of that doesn't quite sum up to result in an overtly engrossing piece of cinema. Compared to some lesser Hollywood flicks in recent times, this one is miles apart but when it is Guy Ritchie at the helm of affairs, expectations are far higher.

This means that during the middle portions of the film you do tend to get a tad restless. This is when a tremendously shot sequence in a train followed by a run in the forest does end up making you cheer in excitement. However you do expect a lot more and thankfully Ritchie shifts gears in the third act of the film, hence elevating the proceedings to an all time high. Frankly, the moment audience is informed about the summit at Switzerland, it leads to that 'get on the edge of your seat' moment since the story telling from this point is truly enthralling.

In an extended climax sequence that involves the coming together of Prime Ministers and ambassadors of European countries, an assassin, few clues and far less time is interestingly narrated. What adds pepper to this intriguing piece is the game of chess played between Downey Jr. and Harris, something that is worth a trip to the movie. What takes the cake though is the epilogue portion which, though expected, is told quite beautifully, hence making you look forward to the third instalment.

Now if only we could have a little more of added drama with some cut down in action, it would just make for a perfect Ritchie-Holmes-Downey Jr. movie that audience would love to root for.

Rating: ***1/2