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 The
second installment in the modern retell of the classic Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle mysteries finds our favourite eccentric detective shouldering many
a loss. Most stunningly for Sherlock Holmes is the sudden, suspicious
passing of an old flame. While his other bereavement is of the
bachelorhood of best mate and partner in anti-crime, Dr John Watson, who
is planning to marry his longtime sweetheart despite Holmes’ many
attempts to dissuade him. All this domestic unrest occurs as the
security of the world is being threatened by a madman whose intelligence
can only be matched by Holmes’ own.
Rumblings of war all over Europe have made a grand summit absolutely
necessary to ensure the peace of the world; an attempt to resolve the
discontent across the continent. Having all those important leaders in
one place is a hazardous proposition open to anyone who would like to
cause a spot of bother, which is where Professor James Moriarty comes
in. Moriarty’s scheme to assassinate the leaders and ignite a world war
is a plot that can only be unearthed by Sherlock Holmes, who has been on
the trail of the shady professor for some time. Circling each other
like two intellectually superior dogs, the adversaries’ enmity cranks
way up after Moriarty makes it personal by murdering Holmes’ recurring
flame, Irene Adler, introduced in the first film. Once a useful spy,
Irene is compromised by her proximity to Holmes, and so her master,
Moriarty, eliminates her. The professor makes it known he’s not going
to stop with the disposal of just one person dear to Holmes and
threatens to do same to Dr. Watson if Holmes doesn’t leave off messing
with Moriarty’s plans to destroy the governments of the world.
Misjudging Holmes’ tenacity, the two engage in a deadly game of chess
with a lot of physical collateral.
The
bad news is that while the production values in this chapter have gone
way up, we’ve still seen a lot of this movie before in the first film.
The cool effects that made the original movie so novel, like Holmes’
inner dialog planning his attacks just before they happen, is done to
death here, with almost no variation to keep it fresh. While there is
bombast everywhere, it starts to feel tired as there’s not enough
interaction between the characters to make the viewer care very much.
Things rush by in such a vacuum, I wonder if people who hadn’t seen the
first film will even care about the relationship of Holmes and Watson?
This is unfortunate when you have the great addition of Simza, the Gypsy
who also stands to lose someone precious for being too close to
Moriarty. Holmes’ acerbic brother Mycroft is also brought into this
chapter and while at one point we see way too much of him, overall, it’s
strangely not enough. We never quite discover why exactly Moriarty
wants to start a war and it’s a big question to answer that’s lost in
the rush to get to the next action sequence. Despite actor Jared
Harris’ best efforts, Moriarty’s never quite as outwardly nuts as say,
the Joker from the Dark Knight Returns, and there’s no poetic line about
wanting to “watch the world burn” to explain his actions. It’s hard
even to read a bubbling-under-the-surface menace from this portrayal, so
the reasoning comes across as Moriarty causing problems simply because
he can and it’s an empty motivation. The good news is that the second
film is still a lot of fun and that’s mostly due to the chemistry
between leads Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson, which
even while mainly retreaded, is still sparky and amusing. Watson’s
wedding, which first loomed over Holmes’ head in the original movie, is
now a reality, but that’s not to say that neither the wedding nor the
honeymoon will be untouched by the dejected detective. Where Holmes
goes, trouble follows, and both Watson and his new missus are pulled
into the plan to stop Moriarty. Somehow there is still some time for
some Yaoi-rific homoerotic tussles between Holmes and Watson, which give
some depth as to why Holmes may be reacting so poorly to his pal’s
nuptials. That scene, taking place on a speeding train as the crew is
besieged by Moriarty’s cronies, is a romp. There’s plenty of boom-crash
action in the second half; some of it taking place in an actual armory
with, what were at the time, new-fangled weapons of mass-destruction.
Director Guy Ritchie is a master of in-your-face-action and scenes like
the chase through the forest using three-hundred-sixty-degree camera
pans and sudden freeze-frames to accentuate the danger could have easily
legitimised the film being made in 3D. I hope new co-stars Stephen Fry
as Mycroft (Who perpetually refers to his little bro as “Shirley”)
and Noomi Rapace as the fierce, brave Simza, hang around for the
prospective next chapter. With a little more emphasis on a stronger,
wittier script and a little less on the blockbuster bombast, there’s no
reason why there shouldn’t be one.
~ The
Lady Miz Diva
Dec 16th,
2011
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