Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows Review

Sorry for the lack of posts the last couple of days everyone, due to a mixture of busyness and laziness (on my part) we haven't done anything, but we have returned. And today I shall be providing you with my thoughts and opinions on Guy Ritchie's second Sherlock Holmes film titled 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows'.

I remember seeing the first one back in the Christmas Period of 2009 and I absolutely loved it, having already a great admiration for Robert Downey Jr it only grew with his role as the titular character. Then given the brilliant partnership of himself and Jude Law as the brilliant Dr. Watson the film was just meant to be a success.

So going into the second film my hopes were high seeing as I am a big fan of Robert Downey Jr. and the first film. I knew I wouldn't be disappointed due to the reviews I have read stating it is better than the last film in every aspect and I completely agree with this statement. The chemistry between the main duo is certainly still there and I found myself laughing all the way throughout the film. The villain of Professor James Moriarty is almost as brilliant as Holmes himself and the twos conflicts throughout the film are filled with tension and brilliant dialogue and acting on both mens parts. Watching the two at one point is like Batman and Joker in the interrogation room in The Dark Knight, but the tables are turned and the two are as brilliant as Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. Noomi Rapace in her first English role is also a nice addition as the French Gypsy who surprisingly is well up for a fight even though she's French, must be the gypsy blood. Noomi's character in my opinion was amazing but the script just didn't give her room to grow as a character throughout the film and left me a bit disappointed that she didn't have much emotional involvement in the film. But a certain event that I shall not say to avoid spoilers really took away any chance she had on becoming involved with Holmes on any emotional level and hindered her as a character but the film still performs spectacularly. Said event was also extremely washed over and left me rather disappointed as I believed it deserved more acknowledgement.

I also found myself extremely wrapped up in the soundtrack of this film, another of Hans Zimmers works as he made the compositions have a very distinct gypsy feel.

Mixing these factors and the amazing sequences of Holmes thought process and urban camoflague this film was far superior to the first and I hope for a third in a couple years as long as a good script is found.
I shall give this film a 4 out of 5

Harry

Harry's Film Flavour!

So I guess if you are going to be reading about my opinion on films you will want to know what kind of films I actually like to watch and what kind of films I will end up writing about. I actually like most genres and can't say    there are many films I haven't enjoyed (except the remake of 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' that can burn in hell). Also, even though you probably don't care about what I plan to do with my life, you just read for a bit of escapism (should just bung on a film really) or just want to fill yourself up with some tasty morsels of filmormation. But anyway, I know I want to go into the film industry when I'm older and plan to attend Ravensbourne but I am still not sure what I want to do exactly, I may dabble in directing, have a shot in screenwriting or see how exciting editing is, who knows but anyway, forwards on!

My favourite director is Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Prestige) and I only need to see two more of his films then I can eagerly wait for his next obvious masterpiece 'The Dark Knight Rises' so expect reviews on all those films in the coming months. Other directors I pay close attention to are David Fincher (Zodiac,Se7en) and Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds) as I have seen most of their films and can say I have absolutely adored all of them.

When it comes to the actors and actresses there are a few names I will keep an eye on as I am a fan of them all and those are Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes, Tropic Thunder), Christian Bale (The Machinist, 3:10 To Yuma), Jake Gyllenhall (Donnie Darko, Source Code) and Natalie Portman (From her child role in Leon: The Professional to Black Swan).

So that is my general favourites in terms of people in the film industry and I hope you have a vague idea of what kind of films I will be reviewing :)

As a little note I would also like to note that the works of George.A.Romero are possibly the most amazing films I have ever seen and I am completely in love with his 'Of The Dead' films and he could possibly be the reason I want to make films.

Harry