Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

[TarionzCousin]

It was passable.

That's not encouraging.

There was not enough refinement of the screenplay for it to qualify as good, and it's especially disappointing that Noomi Rapace is under-utilized.

Even less encouraging.

Still, the action sequences are entertaining (because there are reasons for them), even though the climactic one is a tad melodramatic.

How would you compare it to the first movie? Better? Worse? Same?

 

[Quickleaf]

I saw it Friday night, and halfway through I was really gripped. And then it just fell flat. Noomi Rapace and the gypsies weren't used. Moriarty's motives were kind of blasé. A lot wasn't explained, and there were some reveals later on which lacked sufficient setup. And worst of all the quality of a dialogue suffered.

On the upside the running thru the forest scene was totally mind-blowing. It felt out of place in a Sherlock Holmes film but it looked ground-breaking.

I'd say the first half was as good or better than the first, with the second half notably worse.

Oh and Sherlock knows Kung Fu.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I think that I am too much of a purist. The chemistry between Holmes and Watson was just plain wrong in the first movie.

That said - there were some good things -
Costumes, aside from Irene Adler (and she has a bit of an excuse). Much better than Coppola's Dracula.
I could pinpoint the year by the construction on the Tower Bridge.
They remembered the damned bull pup! (No one remembers the dog. Mentioned only once in the books, as I recall.)
Scoring was good. (I did not like the movie, but own the soundtrack.)
I liked the fact that they remembered Holmes knowing martial arts, but hated the implementation.

Aside from the terrible chemistry between the chief protagonists the things that I disliked are too many to go into... and folks here seem to like the film.

So, I will watch the sequel, and most likely complain about it. Then I will sit down and watch Brett. Again. (I have an awful lot of Sherlock Holmes in my DVD collection, some of it much worse than this one.)

The Auld Grump

 

[frankthedm]

Like most of it. The ending would have been far stronger without the

Spoiler

parcel

. It then shot itself in the foot for a cheap laugh with the

Spoiler

chair

.

 

[Mercutio01]

So, I will watch the sequel, and most likely complain about it. Then I will sit down and watch Brett. Again. (I have an awful lot of Sherlock Holmes in my DVD collection, some of it much worse than this one.)

That's what I did with the first one. Except substitute Basil Rathbone for Jeremy Brett.

I think I'll wait for the second to come out on disc. I saw the first in theaters and didn't feel like it was money well-spent, so into the Netflix queue it goes.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Oh and Sherlock knows Kung Fu.

And we all know that it is supposed to be Baritsu. (In the American printings it was changed to Jiujitsu - which, unlike Baritsu, is an actual martial art.)

Rathbone was a great Holmes, but I will never understand why his films placed Holmes during WWII....

The Auld Grump

 

[Mercutio01]

Rathbone was a great Holmes, but I will never understand why his films placed Holmes during WWII....

The earlier films also took place in their times instead of Victorian England. For the most part, I suspect it was to save cash on set design. For another, Nazis just make good enemies.

What's your thought on the Benedict Cumberbatch update and placing Holmes in contemporary London with Watson a veteran from the current Afghanistan war?

As to baritsu, I remember reading about a Japanese art called bartitsu at some point when I was pretty heavily involved in karate classes. I just googled it, and wikipedia mentioned the link.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Just saw the second film tonight. Enjoyable, with a couple of laughs. I felt the dialog wasn't nearly as witty as last time, but the chemistry of the leads stayed good.

I think I would have preferred it without the final scene [sblock]do film companies still use odious test screenings to force more palatable endings?[/sblock]

 

[Quickleaf]

And we all know that it is supposed to be Baritsu. (In the American printings it was changed to Jiujitsu - which, unlike Baritsu, is an actual martial art.)

Rathbone was a great Holmes, but I will never understand why his films placed Holmes during WWII....

The Auld Grump

True. I was being tongue in cheek about the movie fight choreography being derived from Wing Chun rather than anything Japanese.

Bartitsu is, as I understand it, was an actual eclectic martial art derived from judo and jujitsu developed by a guy named Barton around the era Doyle was writing.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

True. I was being tongue in cheek about the movie fight choreography being derived from Wing Chun rather than anything Japanese.

Bartitsu is, as I understand it, was an actual eclectic martial art derived from judo and jujitsu developed by a guy named Barton around the era Doyle was writing.

I think that is Bartitsu, not Baritsu, but I suppose that Doyle could have just misspelled it.

The Auld Grump, anyone remember Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century?