Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows is an interesting movie that goes overboard. The whole team is back for the sequel including Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and director Guy Ritchie (Snatch). The story is actually pretty interesting because of the villain, Moriarty. Just like Holmes, he’s really smart and a good fighter. It’s cool watching the brainiacs interact because they try to outsmart each other. The story is confusing but to make it short, Moriarty wants the world to go to war so he can be ultra RICH by selling ammunitions. The movie is really nice to look at, especially the costumes and the special effects. The action scenes are still good but overdone. “Holmes-vision” is used so much that it falls towards parody. It’s cool seeing the thought process of the great detective but when it’s done for every major action scene, it gets old fast. I have to admit that the last fight scene was awesome in its own right because it was personal and Holmes was in real danger. With the other action scenes, it was cartoony and there was no sense of urgency, Downey Jr., was too laid back. Overall, this is a better movie than the first because of the villain. While the shock factor from “Holmes-vision” is gone, the movie is worth watching because of the high production value and crazy camera work.
Starting the party with a bang!
Game Of Shadows looks great on my 60″ TV. I was in visual heaven with this movie. I watched this in the theater but I was more impressed watching it at home. The costume details really popped and the set pieces had details that I didn’t notice on the silver screen. Audio is excellent. Dialogue is easy to hear even though Holmes’ accent is hard to understand. The train and forest scenes is the reason I invested on surround sound: the crackling of the guns, the thud of the mortars and the the roar of the train. The DTS-HD lossless transfer is pure heaven.
The main extra in the blu-ray disc is the maximum movie mode. Robert Downey talks about certain scenes with picture in picture and reflects on his experience as the movie is continuously playing. There’s also photo gallery and concept art galleries throughout “maximum” mode. Short featurettes are a nice bonus to the set including the history of Moriarty, chess (yes, that awesome game) and production design.
Even though it’s not perfect, Ritchie’s trademark style of crazy characters and wild camera work makes Game Of Shadow worth watching. The blu-ray presentation is impressive including the in depth extras. That’s the reason I’m giving it an above average score. The set also comes with DVD and digital copies.
Grade: B+
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