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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

1/6/2012

 
Picture
You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to know a Guy Ritchie film when you see one and this one, as usual, had his signature all over it.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is one of those films that gives your imagination full reign to stretch the boundaries of reality without ever questioning logic or feasibility of situation. The action is fast and exciting, with Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Watson (Jude Law) taking us on a whirl-wind journey through magical landscapes with seemingly endless supplies of wardrobe and money; just what you expect from a story like this; a Lost Horizon, a dreamer's paradise. Who cares about trivial details of reality when you've got magic and endless CGI landscapes.

The film starts off with Holmes entangled in yet another mystery while his faithful side-kick Watson heads off on his honeymoon, leaving him alone to solve the bottomless abyss of clues, patterns, and riddles; not for long though. Holmes promptly interrupts Watson's getaway, throws his bride off the train and the two embark on the seemingly impossible feat of saving mankind from another world war.

All is never what it seems in the world of Sherlock Holmes, and that's the way we like it. Director Guy Ritchie's sense of humour shines through in all the right places. Sure he dresses Downey Jr. as a lady with heavy make-up but unlike Some Like it Hot, it doesn't seem outdated. Maybe that's because he doesn't leave us there long enough to fully expel the groan. He might have done without the Dark Knight reference, but again, it wasn't long before we were blown up, shot at, or traveling through some elaborate slow motion action sequence that made us forget all about it.

Ritchie's “thought” sequences are awesome. Not only imaginative and entertaining, but total  immersible, gratuitous fantasy; in the nicest way. Downey Jr. and Law are their usual stellar selves, and  there's still one scene with Holmes' brother Mycroft (Stephen Fry) and Watson's bride (the very talented and understated Kelly Reilly) that still generates laughter.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is one of those films you won't forget for a long while, and may want to see it again to catch all the detail you missed the first time around. It's brilliantly orchestrated, must have employed half the freakin' world to make it (hurray for putting money into artist's pockets) and very, very entertaining.

check out you local Empire Theatre for show times.

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