Mixed Reviews: Sherlock Holmes 2

I have to say, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows impressed me. The mystery was a little hard to follow, and the resurfacing of Rachel McAdams’ character was too brief – but in all, it was a very enjoyable film. It was fast-paced; there were loads of laughs; and Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law had a dynamic chemistry. In particular, I found the suspended motion sequences to be an extremely clever (and visually interesting) way of progressing the story whilst at the same time demonstrating the pace of Sherlock’s mind.

But what do I know? Let’s see what the reviewers had to say.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, 59% of reviewers have so far given the film a positive rating. Of the audience share, 80% have liked it.

Louise Keller from Urban Cinefile said:

“Eating hedgehog goulash, a bride thrown off a train, Sherlock Holmes disguised as a chair and a naked Stephen Fry are some of the incongruous moments of Guy Ritchie's sequel which again has little to do with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's characters.”

Matt Neal of The Standard said:

“Source fidelity aside, the thing that really matters is that Ritchie's re-interpretation is exciting, witty and great fun.”

Mark Jenkins from the Washington Post said:

“It's a modest improvement on bad-boy director Guy Ritchie's first tweaking of Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective.”

Peter Travers from Rolling Stone said:

“In an act of criminal negligence, Ritchie has wasted Robert Downey Jr. in a sequel that eliminates smarts in favor of relentless headbanging.”

My previous posts on this movie:

What's in a name: A lot when it comes to Sherlock Holmes

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