Film review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Two years ago, the notion of making Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's ingenious, opium-smoking detective into a modern-day action hero franchise was anything but elementary.

But director Guy Ritchie has pushed (some would say co-opted) the novels into new territory, namely one of gritty steam-punk realism, stop-frame kung-fu action and heavy artillery. This, the second film in the franchise, which is (extremely) loosely based on the Holmes novel The Final Problem, propels Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his trusty sidekick Watson (Jude Law) to the highest echelon of 21st century … er, that is, 19th-century heroes who bear little to no resemblance to Doyle's creations but who make a gripping duo in a film that is energetic, compelling and hilarious.

The year is 1891, and a slew of bombings are sweeping Europe, pushing the Continent to the brink of war. Most presume fringe anarchist groups are responsible for these acts of violence, but Holmes, of course, has a different theory.

Namely, he believes Dr. Moriarty (Jared Harris), a renowned scientist with a penchant for tweed, is the mastermind, pushing Europe into a war he will profit from by way of his newly acquired stakes in munitions and bandages producers. Holmes enlists the newly married Watson on "one last adventure" before they will part ways.

And what an adventure it is. Unlike the first Holmes film, which took place exclusively in London, A Game of Shadows has our dynamic duo traipsing across the English Channel to Paris, Germany and finally Switzerland, where an international peace conference, which will serve as the film's denouement, is being held. Along the way, Watson and Holmes will team up with a band of gypsies led by Simza Heron (Noomi Rapace) in an attempt to outwit the cunning doctor.

In terms of evil genius, adversaries don't get much better than Dr. Moriarty. Harris puts in a commanding turn as the respected English gentleman with a chip on his shoulder and the intelligence to hatch a plan so complex it might even foil Scotland Yard's greatest detective. His menacing performance is a distinct contrast to the sparkling chemistry between Law and Downey Jr., whose witty banter and lovable annoyance with one another make A Game of Shadows a buddy film and an adventure in equal measure.

As good as the acting is, the Sherlock Holmes franchise is really all about Ritchie. Like its predecessor, this film bears the director's fingerprints from start to finish. The fight scenes - and there are plenty - are depicted with the thrilling stop-motion style Ritchie has used in previous films, and Holmes' notable powers of intellect are displayed in several visionary sequences where he predicts events moments before they happen.

The script takes a back seat to all this kinetic action, and by the time the full extent of Moriarty's plans are revealed in a mountaintop castle in Switzerland, one is at a loss to tie up all the loose strands of plot - which is rather ironic, since it is said Moriarty "never leaves any loose strings" in his evil schemes - but no matter, the film is gripping in any case. There is some snappy dialogue here, especially between Holmes and Watson, much of it deployed with a typically arid British wit, as when Watson questions one of Holmes' ridiculous costumes, to which Holmes replies "It's so overt, it's covert."

The last 20 minutes, as Holmes and company desperately try to unravel Moriarty's scheme before it's too late, are as tense as one can imagine and are punctuated nicely with a game of chess between Holmes and the bad doctor as the future of Europe hangs in the balance. Predictably, the ending of the film is left open, leaving room for a third installment, which is more or less a foregone conclusion. Here's hoping the third go round is as exciting and yes, intelligent, as this one.   

Stephan Delbos can be reached at
sdelbos@praguepost.com