Weeee! They finally released the movie here and I just came from watching it! So like I told , I come with a review of the movie.  I specifically took my notebook and pen to take notes.  On to the review, then!^^


By the way, there are SPOILERS here.  If you don't like them, turn away and walk off nicely xD

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Good points

The first improvement I've noticed is the story.  In the first one, I didn't like it at all.  I mean, the whole supernatural-revival stuff didn't sit well with me and wasn't really worthy of a Holmes case.  In "Game of Shadows", on the other hand, the story flows real nice and it's presented in a very natural way.  It's a Holmes vs. Moriarty case and on a much bigger scale, since it threatens to cause a war that involves all of Europe (or almost all of it).  There are a few red herrings, the most prominent one being THAT stimulant Holmes gives Watson as his "wedding present", but the herring works nicely when it's used.  It also keeps a good pace, with perhaps a few sudden scene transitions, but it's great work overall.

The relationship between Holmes and Watson lives up to the one presented in the first movie.  It flows smoothly, it's versatile and it's bromance and jokes galore, though not enough to draw you away from the story.  It certainly is a different version from the one established in the books but it works, and that's the good thing.  Law and Downey have interpreted Watson and Holmes, respectively, very nicely.  There are a few moments when you just feel for them like you would when reading a case in one of the books.  An example in the movie would be at the end, when Watson walks in on Holmes and watches him drop down into the abyss of Reichenbach with Moriarty in tow.  He's so shocked that he simply can't move and doesn't know how to react except for walking to the railing and staring down with a look of disbelief in his face.  On the other hand, Holmes at Watson's wedding just makes you go 'aw' and want to bang Watson in the head, but hey! It's his choice, but there's that, let's say, disdain in Holmes' disposition toward marriage that he has in the books and it's reflected on his behavior toward Watson at certain points.  I immediately thought of the "I am lost without my Boswell" line Holmes drops in "A Scandal in Bohemia", and you suddenly wish that Watson hadn't married xD

Noomi Rapace's role as Madame Simza is also a good one (perhaps I think it lacks because of how horribly the movie was dubbed in Spanish, but anyway), but perhaps I'll change my opinion towards a more positive one when I watch it in English.  She's a nice addition to the cast and she certainly isn't a damsel in distress, thank goodness.   And onto Moriarty and Moran.  Jared Harris as Moriarty was spot on, seriously.  There's that glint of ruthlesness in his eyes, and he certainly acts like the calculating man Moriarty is.  The way that Moriarty and Holmes interact comes as a surprise, since you can only imagine what their relationship was (in previous encounters) in "The Final Problem", but that familiarty (let's say) between them makes the tension rise, really.  I certainly would have chosen a bulkier man for Sebastian Moran, but Paul Anderson worked nicely.  What I also liked was all the addition of details presented in "The Empty House"; that rocked my socks.

And well, Holmes is... Holmes.  Different, yet splendid.  (I still think the scene in the train and his riding on the pony were the best).

Aaah, and how to forget Miss Adler? With much less protagonism than in the first movie, she gets quite the end: poisoned tea.  The scene in the restaurant was simply awesome, how everybody left at Moran's command to leave Adler and Moriarty to discuss things in private.  There's also that 'feelings for Holmes' thingy there, but it's not too prominent.  Her appearance works as an impact to the viewer, showing that even Irene Adler, cunning as she is, can fall into Moriarty's web of treachery.  

The whole execution of the film was good, overall.  The photography and the landscapes were absolutely beautiful, especially during the horse ride to... Germany, was it? Don't remember now xD Oh, by the way... Holmes is clairvoyant now? LOL.  But no, really, it's like he could predict what would happen and what wouldn't.  It worked, somehow, because that's how his deduction abilities are at times.  That clairvoyant thing brings me to the final chess game and 'fictional' showdown between Holmes and Moriarty.  AWESOME

And the finale at Reichenbach... Windmaedchen, I'm looking at you, because I thought of the pic you drew in regards to the scene. And yes, I agree with what you said in your review: there, it was JUST Holmes.  And when Holmes showed himself to be in disguise at Watson's home, the whole theater was just appalled.  The twist worked and if they aren't planning to do any more Holmes films, then I say it was a good way to put an end to this Holmes continuity.

Bad points

Everything has its negative aspect, even this film as awesome as it was.  

Again, I must say that it's perhaps of the awful Spanish dub, but I didn't quite like Mycroft that much.  Sure, Stephen Fry is a great choice for somebody like Mycroft, but there was something to his character that didn't really fit.  I was imagining him more like the Mycroft in the Granada Series with Brett, you know? I liked that version of him, a lot.  And really, going around stark-naked in Pall Mall while Mary's around? Unnecessary and uncharacteristic; that's what ruined his character for me.  I wasn't too convinced.  

There's also Watson at certain stances.  While his reaction to Holmes and Mycroft totally leaving him in the dust when it came to his pals (poor Watson xD) was understandable, I didn't really see him as a gambler of that sort and not that much of a drinker, either.  Perhaps that was the aspect that I liked the least about him, but he had his moment at Reichenbach and well... every moment of the movie.  Like I said before, Law pulls him off nicely.  

And this one, though I liked it, I thought was a bit excessive: Holmes' torture scene with the hook.  It's not "torture" with all the terrible things it implies, but it still was something close to it.  Holmes doesn't get that hurt in his cases, not in such a way at least.  

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I'd have to see the movie again to get more things to critic, because I was too absorbed in it.  If I'm missing anything, mention it in a comment and I'll discuss it.  

If I gave the first movie a 6.5/10, I give "A Game of Shadows" a good 9/10.  They really beat the first movie because yes, I didn't like it that much.

Opinions, people!^^ And thank you for encouraging me to do this, Wind^^