Shadowed By Excess

  Robert Downey Junior                        Sherlock Holmes

  Jude Law                                            Dr. John Watson

  Jared Harris                                        Moriarty

  Directed By Guy Ritchie.  Written by Kieran Mulroney.

    Your overall enjoyment of Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows depends on
your answer to the following questions?  Are you immune to Hollywood excess? 
Do you mind it when an absolutely extraordinary sequence between two gifted actors,
Robert Downey Junior (Holmes) and Jared Harris (Moriarty) is suddenly peppered
with bombastic slo mo and inane inner dialogue.  If you've answered yes to these questions,
then you will probably enjoy the second film in the newly rebooted Sherlock Holmes series
a bit more than I did.  See, I'm old fashioned.  I hate it when an actor of
Robert Downey Juniors stature is given nothing better to do than quip and preen. 

  I take that back.  As Holmes,  Downey gets to do what every other action does;
become a virtual clairvoyant when the plot requires him to.  As Watson, Holmes friend
and long suffering sidekick, Jude Law is also wasted in Kieran Mulroneys gag infested
screenplay.  I'm all for a little comic relief  and some banter between Holmes and Watson
but in both films, it feels like nothing more than lowbrow filler.  Again, I'm all for banter;
except when it takes away screen time from such a gifted actor like Jared Harris.
After a great bit of by play in which Moriarty threatens Holmes without actually
threatening him, the screenplay takes a detour into excess and sight gags.  Like the
first film, the story for Game Of Shadows seems to wander about until it's time for the
next round of  quipping and or special effects laden excess.

  For my money, I'd rather have more by play between Holmes and Moriarty than a
laborious sequence in which Holmes and Watson hide out among gypsies after Moriarty
makes a threat against Watson's life.  See Sherlock riding a gelding, see Watson doing a
Gypsy dance.  It has to be one or the other.  Either give me a lean script with a cohesive
story or tone down the excess.  Glossy is fine, to a point.  Glossy AND aimless....
not so much.

  Plot:  When we meet Sherlock Holmes again, he is preparing for the wedding of his
best friend, John Watson (Jude Law.)  This effects Holmes greatly, as he fears the loss
of his running mate and right hand man.  Holmes doesn't have long to stew though.
You see, his nemesis, Moriarty (Jared Harris) has entered the picture again and Holmes
believes that he is behind a series of terrorists acts in London.  Naturally, Holmes and
a reluctant Watson spring into action to stop Moriarty before he can unleash an
even more lethal form of mayhem.  I'll stop there, you can decipher the rest of the plot
on your own.

  I'm disappointed that producer Joel Silver and director Guy Ritchie didn't learn from
Peter Guber and his failed experiment in cinematic excess called The Wild Wild West.
Like that film, the second chapter of Sherlock Holmes simply doesn't know when to quit.
Wild Wild West was set in the Civil War era and featured motorized tarantulas and
sleep inducing poolballs.  Sherlock Holmes is supposedly set in 1891 and has
machine guns that aren't supposed to look like modern machines even thought
they ARE machine guns.

  Look, we all know that director Guy Ritchie and producer Joel Silver aren't trying
to recreate the hero that Arthur Conan Doyle originally conceived.  That being said,
why not take Holmes out of 1891.  You change the setting, then the issue of plausibility
becomes moot.  I reiterate, I was disappointed with this film, so naturally, the issues
of plausibility and excess bothered me more than usual.  Still and all though,
I didn't walk out of the theater grumbling,  However brain dead this film is,
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows does have its moments.  There is a nice
swashbuckling sequence where Holmes chases a would be assassin through a
casino hall and as stated earlier, there is some wonderful by play between
Holmes and Moriarty.  Jared Harris should send a clip of his performance to
all actors who want to play the heavy.  If Harris proves anything, he proves that
an actor with skills can be menacing without strangling the dialogue or
emoting themselves into oblivion; see Kenneth Branagh in Wild Wild West.

  Keep your eye on  the scene I referenced earlier, when Holmes tells Moriarty
that he knows he's behind the bombings.  Watch how Harris delivers the volley
before Holmes walks away.  Harris plays the dialogue like a mere exercise but the
impact is extraordinary.  If only Sherlock Holmes had given me a little bit more wit
to go along with all of those silly motion capture shots of bullets floating in mid air
and guns being reloaded.  Alas, substance and brain power doesn't sell tickets
these days.