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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 9/12/2011 12:55:00 PM   
Empire Admin

 

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Post #: 1
sounds as ghastly - 9/12/2011 12:55:00 PM   
artilleryman


Posts: 100
Joined: 9/1/2008
as the first one.

Think I'll hold on for the next series of Sherlock and see this kind of thing done properly and with a bit of brains instead of geezery strutting....

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Post #: 2
Nice. - 9/12/2011 1:00:41 PM   
BVB

 

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If anything like the first one should be good. Won't pre rate it though without seeing it. That would be stupid.

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Post #: 3
Nice. - 9/12/2011 1:38:27 PM   
BVB

 

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If anything like the first one should be good. Won't pre rate it though without seeing it. That would be stupid... d'oh!

< Message edited by BVB -- 9/12/2011 1:39:23 PM >

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Post #: 4
RE: Nice. - 9/12/2011 2:49:05 PM   
superdan


Posts: 7238
Joined: 31/7/2008
I'm looking forward to this, I thought the first one was a surprising gem.

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Post #: 5
RE: Nice. - 9/12/2011 3:32:17 PM   
Rgirvan44


Posts: 18905
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From: Punishment Park
 First one took me by surprise so I will see this. Harris is a great actor so looking forward to what he brings to the table. 

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Post #: 6
Worthy Praise Indeed - 9/12/2011 5:59:52 PM   
bnicholson50

 

Posts: 126
Joined: 25/5/2008
I'm so delighted that Ritchie has hit such a vain of form again. He is one of the great british auteurs and deserves all the plaudits he is currently recieving. Long may his success continue with (hopefully) a SH Trilogy and UNCLE

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Post #: 7
RE: sounds as ghastly - 9/12/2011 7:10:54 PM   
jace007


Posts: 59
Joined: 14/5/2007
Obviously a troll, "geezery strutting!" Are you on drugs? Clearly you are!

Bet when Warhorse comes out, you'll probably say: "Nah, too many subtle ET references, think I'll give this one a miss".

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Post #: 8
Yes shit Sherlock - 9/12/2011 7:36:22 PM   
BatSpider


Posts: 170
Joined: 6/7/2010
The first one was spoonfed crap for the gormless masses, so I won't bother to review this having not seen it... opps!

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Post #: 9
Brill ! - 10/12/2011 6:42:58 AM   
antosh25

 

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Desperate to see it now !

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Post #: 10
Wait... What? - 11/12/2011 7:00:14 PM   
HighwayJoe


Posts: 96
Joined: 3/2/2009
From: Largo, MD
 "Ritchie is convinced of something the ranks of blockbuster-makers seem to have forgotten — fun is not a dirty word."

Wait, but isn't this what has been said of practically every blockbuster since the original 'Spiderman' back in '02? For all I know, it might've been said even before 'Spiderman,' I just can't recall.

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Post #: 11
- 12/12/2011 10:44:53 AM   
loafroaster

 

Posts: 117
Joined: 10/5/2006
The first person to gush about the BBC's overated 'Sherlock' is getting a bullet-timed punch in the chops.

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Post #: 12
RE: - 12/12/2011 4:51:32 PM   
jace007


Posts: 59
Joined: 14/5/2007
I happen to love the BBC version (even the Richard Roxburgh outing in 2000, was it?) You could argue that once Ritchie saw their take on it, that he felt he could use elements from his gangster flicks and tone them down for Deer Stalker and Co. The BBC version is clever for their approach and Benedict Cumberbatch captures all the nuances of Mr Holmes to a tee. And have I forgotten to say it is extremely well written, too?

Look, just punch me in the gut, my looks are precious :-)

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Post #: 13
Can't Wait... - 12/12/2011 5:51:48 PM   
scarletsmith

 

Posts: 8
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Love the good reviews (and all the press leading up to the release) -- looks like Ritchie and Co. have got themselves another winner.

First one was fun, gets better on re-watch, and it goes without saying that Downey was utterly amazing and deserved his Golden Globe win. RDJ could read the phone book and I'd probably still watch, but it's more fun when he actually has a script and character deserving of his amazing ability to completely dominate and reshape a film.

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Post #: 14
RE: - 12/12/2011 7:01:50 PM   
BatSpider


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quote:

ORIGINAL: loafroaster

The first person to gush about the BBC's overated 'Sherlock' is getting a bullet-timed punch in the chops.


BBC's over-rated Sherlock and Gay Ritchie's over-rated Sherlock are equally shit.

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RE: RE: - 12/12/2011 7:15:34 PM   
Rgirvan44


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From: Punishment Park
 No need to compare each version - both are setting out to do very different things. 

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Post #: 16
RE: RE: - 12/12/2011 10:56:51 PM   
MonsterCat


Posts: 6227
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From: St. Albans, Hertfordshire
quote:

ORIGINAL: BatSpider


quote:

ORIGINAL: loafroaster

The first person to gush about the BBC's overated 'Sherlock' is getting a bullet-timed punch in the chops.


BBC's over-rated Sherlock and Gay Ritchie's over-rated Sherlock are equally shit.


I hope that was a typo.


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Post #: 17
RE: RE: - 15/12/2011 10:30:51 PM   
seamuso

 

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quote:

Noomi Rapace is the film’s only non-starter. It’s not her fault, poor girl; gypsy minx Sim is neither feisty nor particularly sympathetic, and isn’t even offered any romance.


I don't see why she should have to be offered romance. It's quite refreshing to see a woman in a big movie who isn't a love interest. Pity if they screwed it up.

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Post #: 18
RE: Better than the first one. - 16/12/2011 2:21:09 PM   
Spaldron


Posts: 10487
Joined: 6/10/2006
From: Chair
 Really enjoyed this one. Ritchie improves his direction on the first film and our two leads still retain that chemistry. Obviously these films have more emphasis on action and this doesn't disappoint with some superb set pieces. The only issues are that there isn't enough clever, puzzle solving stuff that we should expect from a Holmes story and I wasn't 100% convinced with Jared Harris' Moriarty. I felt Mark Strong played a better villain but I plan to see this again so maybe it needs more viewings to convince. Still, all in all very enjoyable.

4/5

< Message edited by Spaldron -- 17/12/2011 3:23:03 AM >

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Post #: 19
RE: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 16/12/2011 10:36:49 PM   
captainrentboy

 

Posts: 678
Joined: 16/3/2008
From: South Wales
 Thoroughly enjoyed this one, found it a lot better than the first.
A good couple of laughs dotted throughout, combined with some top notch action sequences.
RDJ and Law work fantastically off one another and I thought Harris did a great job as Moriaty.
Fry was a tad underwhelming, relying on his, slightly disturbingly, massive naked gut for some easy cheap giggles.

I'd like to see Ritchie tackle a comic book movie next. :)
4/5

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Post #: 20
RE: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 17/12/2011 12:23:25 PM   
Tony_O_Black

 

Posts: 1
Joined: 17/12/2011
The law of diminishing returns usually states that a great first film will likely be followed by a carbon copy of a second, delivered up in lukewarm fashion. Sherlock Holmes is now one of the few franchises to buck that trend, serving a second helping that takes everything good about the original movie, amps it up, then throws in Stephen Fry for an extra dose of awesome.

This was a joy from its bright opening to rousing, epic climax. Robert Downey Jr again makes for a delightfully bonkers and kickass Holmes - nailing the plum British accent as well as the utterly bizarre affectations of the character that conceal his genius (which the script ably displays in various stunning sequences where director Guy Ritchie takes us into his thought process); Jude Law once again plays excellent foil as Watson - tough yet exasperated, though with perhaps a touch more playfulness as Holmes rubs off on him, but these two again prove themselves to be one of the best double acts of recent times. Jared Harris - one of those brilliant character actors you may never have heard of - verges on the edge of being too passive as legendary villain Moriarty for some of this, but you soon realise this is a trick on his and the scripts part, a lull, as he becomes quietly more menacing as the piece progresses to great effect (his & Holmes final battle deserves to stand as one of the best ever put on screen of these characters). And, lets face it, casting Stephen Fry as Holmes' brother Mycroft was just a stroke of genius - your face will beam with delight when he's on screen - one scene in particular I'm convinced was Fry's idea, you'll know the one!

It's not quite perfect, though. For all Noomi Rapace - she now famed as the star of the Swedish Millennium trilogy - has been talked up as a big new star in this, her real breakthrough will be next years Prometheus as she's easily the weak link here as Sim, a Romany dragged into the hunt across Europe to stop Moriarty's plan. She does little throughout bar run away from things and look confused, nowhere near as good a leading lady as Rachel McAdams' Irene Adler (sadly removed after a preppy cameo at the beginning here). And at times, Ritchie doesn't get a solid handle over his plot - choosing to lob one too many (though brilliant) visual tricks & lots of Holmes/Watson banter at us to disguise the fact it takes a good hour for all the threads of Moriarty's plot to really come together enough for the audience to understand why these guys are hopping around the continent.

BUT... this still comes highly recommended. Action packed, superbly performed by almost all, at times brilliantly and inventively written, stylishly directed and bloody funny in many places - a great example of a sequel building on what it did right first time around. Go see for a couple of hours of blistering fun - not an elementary idea at all, my dear.

9/10

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Post #: 21
RE: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 17/12/2011 2:46:29 PM   
Wild about Wilder


Posts: 1486
Joined: 9/4/2010
From: Hertfordshire
 Really enjoyed this much in the same vein as the 1st 1 but hey if it aint broke why fix it! After a pretty poor summer Super 8, Planet Of The Apes, H.P.7 PT2 & Captain America aside it's refreshing to see a rollocking good Adventure with a great patnership of Downey Jr & Law at the helm, I think Ritchies found a good level & if I was him i'd cut out the writing & stick to the Directing.
A thouroughly enjoyable 8/10 or 4*

< Message edited by Wild about Wilder -- 17/12/2011 2:47:29 PM >

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Post #: 22
RE: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 18/12/2011 12:16:59 AM   
musht


Posts: 1144
Joined: 21/1/2009
From: Oireland
 This was a great sequel!! The action was amped up, there was more and it was better. Downey and Law again fantastic chemistry. Regarding Rapace's character she wasn't given much to do because that is the nature of Holmes. There are rarely tertiary characters and certainly not love interests for our hero; it's all about Holmes and Watson and I'm delighted they've stuck to that formula.

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Post #: 23
Brilliant - 18/12/2011 2:52:03 PM   
tysmuse

 

Posts: 256
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What a great follow up. Never boring, funny, great action, and an ending that's worth the wait. Glorious fun.

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Post #: 24
RE: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 18/12/2011 3:16:56 PM   
tjf00

 

Posts: 20
Joined: 3/11/2007
A big step up from the first film - which left me fairly underwhelmed due to it's lack of real threat and forced romance. This ripped along at a spectacular pace, with well staged action (although the chase in the woods overdid the slo-mo) and a superbly tense showdown. RDJ was again excellent, though Jude Law had less to do than in the first film (it felt like the film was missing a proper showdown between him and the sharp shooting assassin bloke, perhaps a deleted scene for the DVD?). I thought Harris was great - loved it when he started to beat Holmes at his own brain game in the final scenes. ****spoilers*****It would have been nice if they were more ambiguous with the ending but I guess they wanted to set up another sequel. Needed to see more of Eddie Marsen in this - he was wasted.

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Post #: 25
RE: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 18/12/2011 11:24:36 PM   
paulyboy


Posts: 2151
Joined: 30/9/2005
Not bad, much the same as the first really. They're very similar films to the Pirates franchise in many ways, given the overall comedic tone with the main character and the various action sequences sprinkled throughout the locations each clue takes them to, not to mention the similar sounding Hans Zimmer score. Easy going but forgettable entertainment, nothing more.

3/5

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backward step - 18/12/2011 11:28:37 PM   
bretty

 

Posts: 143
Joined: 6/10/2005
"bigger, better, funnier" says Empire -well, no actually. Neither as good or as interesting as the first one. A plot about an arms dealer trying to cause war is a very old and lazy one and neither the cast or the plot delivered.

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RE: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 19/12/2011 12:13:56 AM   
flickoftheswitch

 

Posts: 3
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spoiler alert, spoiler alert, spoiler alert

Enjoyable but not quite as enjoyable as the first one I felt. But that could be down to the first having come out of left-field a little and me having very high hopes for this. Biggest bug I had coming out of it was why kill off Moriarty in his first appearance in this version of Sherlock Holmes? Thought Jared Harris was great, absolute brilliant nemesis for Downey Jnr. But surely any villain Holmes meets in any future sequels are going to suffer very badly in comparison to Moriarty? Surely it would have been better to have left him alive after there battle of wits, as Holmes had beaten him by bankrupting him, leaving Moriarty, great mind that he is, to recover for the next film involved in whatever Guy Richie has planned, drugs, media etc. Why leave his assistant, the sniper guy alive and not leave him alive too, just couldn't fathom it to be honest and it took away from my overall enjoyment of it to be honest

Or if your going to kill Moriarty have the balls to kill off Holmes too. Or at least leave it a lot more ambiguous that he may have survived. Let bloody Watson type the ? after seeing the bloody breathing apparatus!!!

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RE: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 19/12/2011 9:59:25 AM   
Wild about Wilder


Posts: 1486
Joined: 9/4/2010
From: Hertfordshire
 It was tweeted that it had soft opening in the US well $40million doesn't seem that soft to me especially when you take into consideration it was the last weekend before Christmas & it took nearly double what the number 2 film took.

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Post #: 29
RE: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 19/12/2011 6:59:27 PM   
musht


Posts: 1144
Joined: 21/1/2009
From: Oireland
quote:

ORIGINAL: flickoftheswitch

spoiler alert, spoiler alert, spoiler alert

Enjoyable but not quite as enjoyable as the first one I felt. But that could be down to the first having come out of left-field a little and me having very high hopes for this. Biggest bug I had coming out of it was why kill off Moriarty in his first appearance in this version of Sherlock Holmes? Thought Jared Harris was great, absolute brilliant nemesis for Downey Jnr. But surely any villain Holmes meets in any future sequels are going to suffer very badly in comparison to Moriarty? Surely it would have been better to have left him alive after there battle of wits, as Holmes had beaten him by bankrupting him, leaving Moriarty, great mind that he is, to recover for the next film involved in whatever Guy Richie has planned, drugs, media etc. Why leave his assistant, the sniper guy alive and not leave him alive too, just couldn't fathom it to be honest and it took away from my overall enjoyment of it to be honest

Or if your going to kill Moriarty have the balls to kill off Holmes too. Or at least leave it a lot more ambiguous that he may have survived. Let bloody Watson type the ? after seeing the bloody breathing apparatus!!!


continued SPOILER ALERT for books as well as film

it's very loyal to the books in how it ended. Conan Doyle killed off Holmes only to bring him back years later (although in the book Holmes didn't use breathing apparatus. The first case Holmes took on his return was going after Moriarty's rifle so I expect they will go that direction if the third is greenlit. It is a backwards way of doing it I agree but I'd be interested to see if the tone it down or amp it up even further




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