Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows

Caught a showing at the Grove today… I think I was able to follow most of the movie, while wincing in pain at how loud it was.

That’s not the movie’s fault. Yes, there are lots of loud fight scenes, explosions and whatnot, but the last few years the Grove has been trying to outdo itself turning up the volume. I have permanent hearing damage from a showing of Inception… and the Grove is only turning them up louder. I’ve been to lots of concerts in my life… but none of them were ever as loud as an action movie at the Grove.

And this isn’t just some old guy whining. There were some teenagers in the theater with their hands over the ears in some parts. I kid you not.

It’s not like I haven’t complained. I have. Many times. Each time the smiles are more and more dismissive. So I can only tell my friends that if it’s an action flick, either take ear protection or don’t see it at the Grove.

Okay, old man yelling at clouds is over…

If you like the first Guy Ritchie Holmes flick, you’ll certainly like this one, no doubt about it. It’s as much fun as the first, if a bit more haphazardly paced. And where the first one took a moment to show us the sad loneliness of Sherlock Holmes, this one passes that by for more banter between Holmes and Watson.

Jared Harris’ Moriarty is the best thing about this latest chapter (and nice to see one of the supporting players from Mad Men on the big screen). And there are some fun nods to Holmes lore for the more literary-minded… including a nice little nod to a certain waterfall, though the film decides to turn that ultimate conclusion on its head (MUST make sure there’s room for the inevitable third sequel).

As before, the chemistry (and a little homoerotic playacting) between Robert Downey Jr’s Holmes and Jude Law’s Watson is terrific. My one complaint is that the gimmick of having Holmes’ interior monologue plan out some physical altercation and then carry it out is used too many times. They should have saved it for the final confrontation between Holmes and Moriarty – we would have been waiting for it expectantly, rather than dreading yet another appearance of it.

But when all is said and done, it rates at least as good as the first, and you get almost everything you expect from it. Three violins out of four.

Oh, one final note: the repetition of the “get that out of my face” gag apparently didn’t make it into the final cut, even though it appeared in some of the trailers. Unless I missed it because the damn thing was so freakin’ loud, that is.