SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS [review]....by IMTHATDUDE

When debating what movie to write a review for first, one of my good friends (my play cousin – bearing the same surname as me) declared emphatically “Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock! Sherlock!” That was a pretty convincing argument from my erudite friend whose initials are interestingly MMM.

VITALS

Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Sherlock I) – Director

Michele and Kieran Mulroney (Paper Man) - Writers

Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) – Sherlock Holmes

Jude Law (Closer, Alfie) – Dr. Watson

Noomi Rapace (Girl with the Dragon Tatoo Series – the Swedish ones) – Madam Simza

Rachel McAdams (Morning Glory, Midnight in Paris) – Irene Adler

Jared Harris (Mad Men) – Prof. Moriarty

Kelly Reilly (The Libertine, Pride & Prejudice) – Mrs. Dr. Watson

IF YOU MUST KNOW:

Sherlock Holmes investigates one of what he believes to be an interconnected series of crimes committed all across the Western world. His chief suspect, Prof. Moriarty – the man he believes to be the mastermind behind these acts of violence and terrorism. That’s all I can or should tell you about the plot. Sherlock Holmes is not exactly the kind of series/movie that is properly given to describing any detailed version of events because doing so would jeopardize the whole scheme. It’s a detective story… you have to watch the movie as they detect stuff.

If you liked the first reboot (yes, there were many Sherlock Holmes films, based on the Arthur Conan Doyle stories, prior to Guy Ritchie and RDJ), you should really enjoy this one. That said, the action was virtually relentless. The comedy was well-timed. The fight scenes although unnatural in their depiction, are so utterly realistic that you have to applaud the fight coordinator for not using harnesses and making these mortals fly about as if they were mutants (that’s another movie entirely). You don’t mind the fact that as my niece said and I quote “Jude Law is NOT a leading man. That’s why he needs somebody like Robert Downey, Jr. in every movie.” Out of the mouths of babes… Wow, she’s growing up sooooo fast.

So, with all the action, the intrigue, and the comedy, one might ask, why would That Dude have a problem with the movie at all? That’s a good question. The answer is simple – homoeroticism. I had to subtract a full point for it. I’m sorry. I know that sounds like I’m a phobe. Let me clarify… I have a real problem with how these movies nowadays have taken to what has become an easy way to solicit a cheap moment of levity. Robert Downey Jr. cross dressing! Aha! That’s funny. Everyone will LOVE it, right? QUALIFIED SPOILER ALERT: Having Jude Law (the irony of him being considered “pretty” is not lost here) and RDJ dodging bullets from a gatling large gun (phallic much???) whilst locked in a spooning embrace on the floor with RDJ - shirtless and in lipstick donning a frilly dress… really, yo? In truth, most of the audience laughed during that scene. So the eff what? Half those people would laugh at a Madea movie. I’m not impressed. Can we NOT find some other way to infuse a moment of levity these days? I hate to criticize a writer – now that I know how difficult it is to put together a good complete script – but this smacks of laziness. Now that I’ve said this, I bet if you think of it, you can come up with a bunch of other TV shows and movies where some homoerotic moment is used as to illicit a laugh. I find these sorts of devices as tedious as fart jokes. That’s not being a “phobe” that’s being an elitist. And that, my friends, is a title I do wear. I mean com’on, son. I nearly expected Jude Law to hit RDJ with an “AY-YO!” when he saw him in that “disguise.” Seriously, this sequence in the flick was only slightly more homoerotic than any recent Jay-Z/Kanye video callabo and slightly less than the “Weezy F. Baby” moniker of Lil Wayne. In other words, I’d have preferred less…

And a much more… Noomi Rapace, Rachel McAdams (still crushing on you, girl), Kelly Reilly, and random crap blowing up. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. (Insert God Bless America instrumental here.) But, so help me God, Buddy/Action/Comedies that use cheap, simple minded theatrical tricks for laughs have to be stopped or else we are as guilty as anybody for the dumbing down of America.

Aside from that, and the unnecessary length (PAUSE?), the movie was pretty damned good. It’s the only movie in the big 3 (Sherlock, Dragon Tatoo, and Ghost Protocol) that never once made me consider taking a peak at the inside of my eyelids. All in all, if you have some time to catch a flick over this holiday season, I think Sherlock might be the most genuinely entertaining & family friendly flick in the litter. Of course, I haven’t seen any of the kiddie flicks – mostly because I find it a bit weird to be a 35-year old brotha in a hoodie (I likes to rock a hoodie to the theatre – it keeps people at least one seat away from me – WHAT!?) copping a ticket for The Muppets or Hugo or Chipmunks – Chipwrecked! and not having any kids or kids with me - hence, the pass.

ImTHATdude gives Sherlock Holmes 2/A Game of Shadows: 4

RATING SYSTEM:

5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!
4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.
3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.
2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…
1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.