Game of Shadows is good stuff!

The Game of Shadows hit the Indian screens on December 30th. Pity it was not released in Belgaum which is the reason why my verdict was delayed by two weeks. Most of you must have seen this flick but there are still many of you people out there who have missed this jollygood entertainer!

Set in 1891, the films starts off with Irene Adler( Rachel Mcadams) delivering a package. The person to whom the package was to be delivered, triggers a bomb which is hidden inside the package, however the bomb is detonated after the intervention of Sherlock Holmes( Robert Downey Jr). A series of such similar mysterious events continue to take place in London. Holmes later discloses to Dr John Watson(Jude Law) that he has been keeping a track of unrelated happenings like murders, the tensions between France and Germany, shares related to war profiting companies and all these happenings are connected to Prof. James Moriarty( Jared Harris).

Like most of his signature films, director Guy Ritchie’s treatment towards his character is no different but he does have the ability to craft his action in a different way with every film of his.  Look out for the scene in the train where Watson and his wife are on their way to honeymoon in Brighton where Moriarty’s men are waiting or the scene where Holmes and the rest of his team escape from the forest is nothing short of spectacular!  Whereas the rest is directed in the same way the 2009 film was shot except for the little surprise that Prof. James Moriarty’s delivers in the end.

Game of Shadows is shot gracefully and its two hours well spent.

Where this film fumbles is that it makes the same mistake as that of its predecessor. The kind of noir the Sherlock Holmes purists are looking out and it also fails to transform its viewers to that period like the way Tarantino’s excellent 2009 film “Inglorious Basterds” did which was also set in in the pre 1950 era for is missing in this film as well and sadly it turns out to be a regular hollywood blockbuster.

Despite its shortcoming, Game of Shadows is fun because of its delicious cast, Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, credible actors both, once again successful in bringing up that sparkling chemistry which is required for a Holmes and a Watson. Jared Harris is menacing as the antagonist Prof James Moriarty.

Alas, judge this Guy Ritchie’s  Sherlock Holmes series purely on the basis of individual merit and please do not compare it with the old classics! Guy Ritchie is one of the most stylish film makers of our times and this is his way of portraying Holmes. I’m going to go with 3 out of 5 for Game of Shadows. Go with a group of friends and you will be glued to your seat till the very end!