Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Review and Discussion

[Trekker4747]

Having watched the first one recently, I also sort of noticed a bit of disparity between Moriarty's character as we see it in the first movie as well as his motivations.

Is it my imagination or did nothing become of the bomb part he stole in the first movie? The ending of the first movie also suggests that the local authorities knew of Moriarty and saw him as a threat of some sort. But in this movie it seems Moriarty is a known, respected, and still practicing professor who makes public appearances.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Yeah there might have been some minor retconning. It's possible the bomb he was making in the first was already used in between films.

 

[Trekker4747]

I'd say it was rather severe retconing. The first movie ends with the local authorities coming to Holmes because they've discovered a body, with Moriarty's retractable near it, and the officer who comes to Holmes pretty much says Moriarty is suspected to be involved. It seems pretty established at the end of the first movie the Moriarty was (or is now) a known criminal whom the police are after and are seeking the help of Holmes.

In this movie he seems like a respected member of society that the police aren't too concerned about.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Or at least haven't been able to trace any crimes to him directly. I'm going to have to re-watch the first movie again. I've seen the sequel now too many times now. Another possibility is the writers just fleshed out Moriarty more in the sequel than they did in the first one.

 

[Trekker4747]

Well, like I said, at the end of the first movie the local authorities seemed pretty convinced Moriarty had committed the murder, or at least had a hand in it. And, somehow I doubt 19th century English police forces were prone to things like evidence and "proof" when it came to detaining potential criminals. Hell, I doubt American forces of the time were prone to such things.

 

[Captain Craig]

Perhaps I should have included a spoiler warning in the thread title....we've been outright discussing significant plot points. Ah well.

I think most people know spoilers happen in these threads.
Still, anytime I do one I put SPOILERS in the title and OP as a "just in case".

 

[archeryguy1701]

^^I don't think there was anything in the first movie indicating that the authorities were convinced Moriarty did anything. In fact, all that happened at the end was the police officer describing the weapon they believe was used to kill the other officer, and it was Holmes and Watson who leaped to Moriarty. And all the officers (and Holmes at the time) was a name given to Holmes by a known con artist.

While I would have liked it if the stolen piece of the bomb was somehow referenced, it didn't bug me too much and it wouldn't be hard to take a leap of where it would come in. Moriarty is trying to start a world war that he would supply. How much money do you think he would be able to get from weapons or other equipment controled by radio transmitters? This amazing piece of technology would likely be in high demand during war times and would probably line his pockets quite nicely.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

While I would have liked it if the stolen piece of the bomb was somehow referenced, it didn't bug me too much and it wouldn't be hard to take a leap of where it would come in. Moriarty is trying to start a world war that he would supply.

In SH, it's a chemical weapon that the society was going to use to assassinate Parliament, and in A Game of Shadows the artillery shell that Holmes examines in the munitions factory was a chemical weapon. While it was the radio transmitter that was taken in SH, it's not unreasonable to think that that was itself a diversion to keep Holmes' attention from Moriarty's real interest, which was the chemical weapon.

 

[archeryguy1701]

^But they also said in the first movie that Irene and the chemical weapon was meant to distract Holmes from Moriarty's real interest in the transmitter.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

It's a double-bluff.

 

[Saul]

Moriarty also had that cool gun in his arm ala Taxi Driver and it was hinted that Brad Pitt would play him. I think ultimately the film makers decided to keep the character's tone normal rather than turning him into a super villain.

As for Irene. Like the character, disliked the actress who played her. BBC's Sherlock did it so much better.

 

[Trekker4747]

I didn't mind Irene in either film, certainly didn't mind her dress-changing scene in the first movie.

 

[stj]

I liked Jared Harris' villain better than Mark Strong's.

I thought this sequel was far more sentimental. The main part of Holmes' motivation is desire to save Watson. This fits in with the canon, but, I can't agree with the people above who think the BBC Holmes does. Unless there were dramatic changes after the first two episodes, which were all I could stand. I didn't mind the sentiment. After all, I could watch Nigel Bruce. But it is dramatically weaker than the first, following the rule that the sequel is never as good as the first.

For instance, the dance is completely unbelievable, acceptable only if you have invested in the movie and you are simply not going to pull out and lose your stake. Compare how in the very same scene the crowd reacts to a dropped tray and the dance!

The real key I think is Jude Law's performance. As entertaining as Downey is, without Law it's nothing. That's the difference between the BBC version and the movies, the movie Watson is vastly superior.

 

[Trekker4747]

Well, my mom's replica scarf is done. Here it is (with my ugly mug in it.)

 

[Captain Craig]

I am impressed!! She did a fantastic job replicating that!! Please pass along my praise.

In movie news as we go into the 4-Day MLK weekend Holmes 2 is $38.5m away from the $200m domestic barrier. How much can it make towards that goal this weekend. This should be it's last big push to reach it.

 

[Dream]

I picked up this bad boy last night and plan to read the whole thing before seeing the sequel in the next few days.

 

[Harvey]

Nice. My brother got the complete Sherlock Holmes for Xmas, with the original illustrations from The Strand. I was jealous.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I got the Complete Sherlock Holmes for kindle for under a buck! Been meaning to read it for quite some time, now I can. Trekker, your mom did a tremendous job.

 

[Saga]

tis a very nice scarf Trekker4747

 

[Trekker4747]

I just need to keep it away from gypsies.