A Game of Shadows (review)
Wrong Sherlock icon, but whatevs...
This is not so much a review as a spoiler-laden rant about the movie.
But less ranty.
So don't click unless you've seen the movie; like "The Prestige", knowing the spoiler will (moderately) ruin the movie.
So, things being what they are, I ended up seeing this movie twice in 2 days.
Only time I've ever done that, but thankfully it was basically "Slash Fiction: The Movie", so I was okay with it. :)
Mostly, if you liked the first movie with RDJ channeling Jack Sparrow (as one friend remarked) and JL trying to stay sane near that, you'll like this one.
It's bigger and explodier, but there is a mystery, namely "What the HELL is Moriarty up to?"
It's revealed, too, in a good way.
Several Chekhov's guns, too--the "urban camouflage", the adrenaline shot, the poison dart, etc. The plot was very closely drawn together--hardly anything happened "because"; it happened for a reason.
Crazy summary is crazy (it's basically the whole movie, so it's a bit long):
Irene is "killed" within the first few minutes of the film by fast-acting tuberculosis after a very creepy restaurant scene.
We see Moriarty for the first time, and while he's adequate, I don't think he's quite creepy enough for the role. He doesn't reach the level of insanity that Jim (of Sherlock BBC) operates at.
Sherlock spaced Watson's Stag Party, but we get Mycroft to make up for it.
Who is now going to be known as "Frycroft" because he's played ADMIRABLY by Stephen Fry, who is amazing and awesome and perfect.
We also meet Madame Sims(z)a, a Gypsy fortuneteller (Noomi Rapace, who is GORGEOUS), and learn why she's important.
For slashettes: Sherlock never even notices she's female, just that she's useful. With knives and such.
Cue the awesome fight with the Cossack, who "dies" in the Thames (could have been resolved with one throwaway line on Sherlock's part: Watson: How do we know he's dead? Sherlock (scornfully): Everyone knows Cossacks can't swim.).
Watson wins (and Sherlock's still keeping his money!) big, but Sherlock upsets it, and Watson is horribly hungover etc for his wedding the next day.
Mary is gorgeous in her dress, the wedding is pretty, but Sherlock doesn't say goodbye, just rushes off to meet Moriarty in person for the first time.
Moriarty is apeshit, Sherlock notices things relevant to the plot, etc.
He leaves to save Watson, like the good husband he is.
Sherlock ends up in drag as a very unattractive woman, saves Mary, and is topless with smudged blue eyeshadow and smeared red lipstick. It's amazing. AND SO HOT!
"Lie down with me Watson!" (actual quote)
(The exchange that was a callback to the first movie ("Get that out of my face!" "It's not in your face, it's in my hand." "Get what's in your hand out of my face!") and was in the trailers was NOT in the final cut of the movie.)
Asplosions happen, then Sherlock and Watson make for France.
Sherlock says "bye" to Irene, and they go and find Sim again.
Hedgehog goulash, etc etc, winery/revolutionery, secret passage, mistaken bomb placement (damn you Moriarty!), sniper rifles, OFF TO GERMANY. ON A PONY.
Sherlock gets tortured by Moriarty, but it's okay, because John collapses a tower on him. Really.
"If convenient, come at once. If inconvenient, come all the same."
They run in obnoxiously too-long slo-mo through the woods while the Germans (and Sebastian Moran) are hell-bent on shooting them with the biggest guns possible (REALLY BIG GUNS, for the record, BFGs) and land in a train.
Sherlock "dies", Watson "dances" on his chest (wtf is that from? it sounds so familiar...), finally remembers the wedding present (adrenaline shot), and Sherlock promptly runs into a wall.
Then they go home by way of Switzerland.
REICHENBACH!!!
*shakes fist*
*shakes fist some more*
*sobs quietly*
(Holmesians know that Sherlock "dies" at Reichenbach.)
Stephen Fry is there again (he was in an earlier scene with Mary in his altogether, which was AMAZING, but not hot).
We see another Chekhov's gun, yay, and then the dance!
First Sherlock and Sim dance, then Sherlock and Watson dance (!!!!!!) and then Sherlock drags Moriarty off for angry sex for a game of chess. (Why is does chess always = sex? cf. XMFC.)
Watson saves the day, but Sherlock knows he cannot best Moriarty in a fist fight, so he drags them both over the cliff.
SOBS.
SOBBING!
DIES OF DEHYDRATION FROM THE TEARS AND RAIN STREAMING DOWN MY FACE.
BUT!
(My friends and I agree this should have happened AFTER the credits)
Sherlock's funeral, Watson is broken.
Like, really, really, really broken.
Sherlock delivers a package to Watson--oxygen canister!
Watson goes "huhwuh?"
And then he's shaking his fist (metaphorically) and grilling Mary for details about the postman.
Wait--what's that?
Sherlock in his "urban camouflage", on Watson's chair.
(He's there throughout the whole scene; if you know what you're looking for, you can sort of make him out.)
Watson had typed "THE END", Sherlock changes it to: "THE END ?"
THE END!
Overall, VERY GOOD movie.
I didn't have as much of a problem as I thought seeing it twice.
I will post a trailer review on a separate post because it seems mean to make anyone wade through spoilers for that. :)
This is not so much a review as a spoiler-laden rant about the movie.
But less ranty.
So don't click unless you've seen the movie; like "The Prestige", knowing the spoiler will (moderately) ruin the movie.
So, things being what they are, I ended up seeing this movie twice in 2 days.
Only time I've ever done that, but thankfully it was basically "Slash Fiction: The Movie", so I was okay with it. :)
Mostly, if you liked the first movie with RDJ channeling Jack Sparrow (as one friend remarked) and JL trying to stay sane near that, you'll like this one.
It's bigger and explodier, but there is a mystery, namely "What the HELL is Moriarty up to?"
It's revealed, too, in a good way.
Several Chekhov's guns, too--the "urban camouflage", the adrenaline shot, the poison dart, etc. The plot was very closely drawn together--hardly anything happened "because"; it happened for a reason.
Crazy summary is crazy (it's basically the whole movie, so it's a bit long):
Irene is "killed" within the first few minutes of the film by fast-acting tuberculosis after a very creepy restaurant scene.
We see Moriarty for the first time, and while he's adequate, I don't think he's quite creepy enough for the role. He doesn't reach the level of insanity that Jim (of Sherlock BBC) operates at.
Sherlock spaced Watson's Stag Party, but we get Mycroft to make up for it.
Who is now going to be known as "Frycroft" because he's played ADMIRABLY by Stephen Fry, who is amazing and awesome and perfect.
We also meet Madame Sims(z)a, a Gypsy fortuneteller (Noomi Rapace, who is GORGEOUS), and learn why she's important.
For slashettes: Sherlock never even notices she's female, just that she's useful. With knives and such.
Cue the awesome fight with the Cossack, who "dies" in the Thames (could have been resolved with one throwaway line on Sherlock's part: Watson: How do we know he's dead? Sherlock (scornfully): Everyone knows Cossacks can't swim.).
Watson wins (and Sherlock's still keeping his money!) big, but Sherlock upsets it, and Watson is horribly hungover etc for his wedding the next day.
Mary is gorgeous in her dress, the wedding is pretty, but Sherlock doesn't say goodbye, just rushes off to meet Moriarty in person for the first time.
Moriarty is apeshit, Sherlock notices things relevant to the plot, etc.
He leaves to save Watson, like the good husband he is.
Sherlock ends up in drag as a very unattractive woman, saves Mary, and is topless with smudged blue eyeshadow and smeared red lipstick. It's amazing. AND SO HOT!
"Lie down with me Watson!" (actual quote)
(The exchange that was a callback to the first movie ("Get that out of my face!" "It's not in your face, it's in my hand." "Get what's in your hand out of my face!") and was in the trailers was NOT in the final cut of the movie.)
Asplosions happen, then Sherlock and Watson make for France.
Sherlock says "bye" to Irene, and they go and find Sim again.
Hedgehog goulash, etc etc, winery/revolutionery, secret passage, mistaken bomb placement (damn you Moriarty!), sniper rifles, OFF TO GERMANY. ON A PONY.
Sherlock gets tortured by Moriarty, but it's okay, because John collapses a tower on him. Really.
"If convenient, come at once. If inconvenient, come all the same."
They run in obnoxiously too-long slo-mo through the woods while the Germans (and Sebastian Moran) are hell-bent on shooting them with the biggest guns possible (REALLY BIG GUNS, for the record, BFGs) and land in a train.
Sherlock "dies", Watson "dances" on his chest (wtf is that from? it sounds so familiar...), finally remembers the wedding present (adrenaline shot), and Sherlock promptly runs into a wall.
Then they go home by way of Switzerland.
REICHENBACH!!!
*shakes fist*
*shakes fist some more*
*sobs quietly*
(Holmesians know that Sherlock "dies" at Reichenbach.)
Stephen Fry is there again (he was in an earlier scene with Mary in his altogether, which was AMAZING, but not hot).
We see another Chekhov's gun, yay, and then the dance!
First Sherlock and Sim dance, then Sherlock and Watson dance (!!!!!!) and then Sherlock drags Moriarty off for angry sex for a game of chess. (Why is does chess always = sex? cf. XMFC.)
Watson saves the day, but Sherlock knows he cannot best Moriarty in a fist fight, so he drags them both over the cliff.
SOBS.
SOBBING!
DIES OF DEHYDRATION FROM THE TEARS AND RAIN STREAMING DOWN MY FACE.
BUT!
(My friends and I agree this should have happened AFTER the credits)
Sherlock's funeral, Watson is broken.
Like, really, really, really broken.
Sherlock delivers a package to Watson--oxygen canister!
Watson goes "huhwuh?"
And then he's shaking his fist (metaphorically) and grilling Mary for details about the postman.
Wait--what's that?
Sherlock in his "urban camouflage", on Watson's chair.
(He's there throughout the whole scene; if you know what you're looking for, you can sort of make him out.)
Watson had typed "THE END", Sherlock changes it to: "THE END ?"
THE END!
Overall, VERY GOOD movie.
I didn't have as much of a problem as I thought seeing it twice.
I will post a trailer review on a separate post because it seems mean to make anyone wade through spoilers for that. :)