Righto then, saw this today with my dad and brother.
HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD, DON'T SAY YOU WEREN'T WARNED.
First of all I have to say that I loved the first one, it's one of my favourite films of the last few years. The blend of mystery, action and comedy was perfectly balanced and the cast was a lot of fun, I didn't really have any problems with it.
As for this one... I have quite a few problems with it.
The main problem is that the previously mentioned balance of mystery/action/comedy is totally shattered here in the the mystery side of things is pretty much gone. In the first film the questions of how Blackwood is doing the things he's doing and to what purpose don't become clear until the final act, it's well put together, there's a good build-up and the answers are satisfying. It isn't exactly one of the great movie mysteries but it holds up fine. In Shadows there isn't really a mystery at all, within the first twenty minutes it's established that France and Germany are close to starting up a world war and that Moriarty is behind it, it's obvious even before we're told. The mystery is pretty much pushed into the background after the first Holmes/Watson scene and the films becomes a race to stop Moriarty's nefarious plans.
Because of this the action sequences and comedy bits have to fill the void left by the absence of a good mystery and both inevitably outstay their welcomes. The action scenes are too frequent and go on for too long to the point where they stop being entertaining and start to get tedious, the scene in the woods that's in the trailer is nicely done but it comes immediately after another big action sequence and as such it doesn't have as much impact as it could have. The reason the fight at the docks in the first film was such a stand-out scene was that there's wasn't another action scene like it in the film whereas in Shadows' there's a few and as such the stand-out scene can't stand out because there's others just like it.
Another problem the action scenes have is the overuse of Holmes' two steps ahead/slow-mo thing where he plans out a fight in advance of it actually happening. In the first one this only came up once or twice and showcased how impressive a strategic thinker Holmes is, in Shadows it's used far to often and apparently Holmes is now nothing short of psychic. He's predicting stuff there's literally no way he could have seen coming and it goes over the line from being camp/silly to being flat-out retarded. The moment where it goes from retarded to FULL retarded doesn't come until the end when Holmes is having his showdown with Moriarty and starts doing his slow-mo planning stuff and then out of the blue MORIARTY JOINS IN, he and Holmes start chatting, apparently telepathically, whilst they see how their fight would go in slow motion. I know it's meant to show that Moriarty is a match for Holmes and can plan ahead too but seriously, they start talking to each other, that's a fucking telepathic conversation. What in the shit.
I'll just quickly stop and say that I really enjoyed Moriarty in this film, he was very entertaining, convincingly sinister and they did a good job of showing how much of a match he is for Holmes.
Anyway, on to the comedy scenes. The problems here are pretty much the same as the problems with the action scenes, too much too often to the point where it stops being fun. The banter between the characters and the eccentricity of Holmes were handled very well in the first film but shadows deals with both with all the subtlety of a brick to the face. The scene in the trailer that shows Holmes in drag is just as unfunny in the film as it is in those trailers and it just goes on and on for what feels like an eternity. You can practically hear Guy Ritchie screaming at the audience "LAUGH YOU FUCKERS, IT'S A MAN IN A DRESS, LAUGH!"
Then there's the handling of the Holmes/Watson bromance. In the first film it was handled pretty much perfectly, the two actors worked well together, their dialogue was witty and there was a lot of heart to the relationship. They bickered like an old married couple and had their spat over Watson's engagement but you got an genuine sense that these were two guys who really cared about each other and had a strong friendship. In Shadows I'm genuinely surprised there wasn't a scene where Holmes clumsily attempts to give Watson a hand-job. The banter and what-not is still there and it still works but there's a few very awkwardly done jokes about how close the two are and they really don't work. The two worst offenders being when Holmes strips practically naked and asks Watson to lie on the floor with him and the other being their Waltz towards the end. The first film managed to balance humour and heart but Shadows tips the scales way towards the former and the film suffers as a result.
Now that I'm done with the broader problems I can address the more minor stuff.
First of all, characters. Holmes' love interest from film uno, Irene Adler, is done away with quickly and I can't say I was sad to see her go. She was a notable weak point of the first film and I didn't give a single fuck when she was gone. Her 'replacement' in the form of the French gypsy played by the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is okay, she's about as bland as Adler but at least she isn't annoying. That being said was I the only one who didn't care even a little bit about how the sub-plot about her missing brother went? That wasn't interesting even for a minute and came across as a weak excuse to keep her character around. While Adler was annoying at least her sub-plot with Moriarty was interesting.
Stephen Fry is a lot of fun as Holmes' older brother Mycroft and he does a lot to make up for the weaker supporting cast of Shadows. The absence of Inspector Lestrade, who wasn't a major character but who had some very fun exchanges with Holmes and the two really played off each other well, is a notable loss. Not much of the film is set in London so I can see why he was left out but only giving him one line is way too little. Also, the gigantic Frenchman was a far more entertaining from Blandy Mc.Soldier is.
Uh... What else is there... Too much slow motion, it got tedious quite quickly. The last scene was a bit of a cop-out and I personally would've preferred a more ambiguous/bitter-sweet end. That's pretty much it for what I didn't like about it. There's probably other stuff that I've forgotten but I've already produced a substantial wall of text so I'll try to wrap this up.
I wouldn't say Shadows is a bad film, it's just not as good as the first. The Holmes/Watson banter is still a lot of fun and Mycroft and Moriarty are both very entertaining in their own ways. Some of the jokes are solid despite others falling flat and while some of the actions scenes can drag and seem repetitive there are some well done parts here and there. Basically, if the first is a 10 (it isn't but let's not split hairs) then on this scale shadows would be about a 7.
HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD, DON'T SAY YOU WEREN'T WARNED.
First of all I have to say that I loved the first one, it's one of my favourite films of the last few years. The blend of mystery, action and comedy was perfectly balanced and the cast was a lot of fun, I didn't really have any problems with it.
As for this one... I have quite a few problems with it.
The main problem is that the previously mentioned balance of mystery/action/comedy is totally shattered here in the the mystery side of things is pretty much gone. In the first film the questions of how Blackwood is doing the things he's doing and to what purpose don't become clear until the final act, it's well put together, there's a good build-up and the answers are satisfying. It isn't exactly one of the great movie mysteries but it holds up fine. In Shadows there isn't really a mystery at all, within the first twenty minutes it's established that France and Germany are close to starting up a world war and that Moriarty is behind it, it's obvious even before we're told. The mystery is pretty much pushed into the background after the first Holmes/Watson scene and the films becomes a race to stop Moriarty's nefarious plans.
Because of this the action sequences and comedy bits have to fill the void left by the absence of a good mystery and both inevitably outstay their welcomes. The action scenes are too frequent and go on for too long to the point where they stop being entertaining and start to get tedious, the scene in the woods that's in the trailer is nicely done but it comes immediately after another big action sequence and as such it doesn't have as much impact as it could have. The reason the fight at the docks in the first film was such a stand-out scene was that there's wasn't another action scene like it in the film whereas in Shadows' there's a few and as such the stand-out scene can't stand out because there's others just like it.
Another problem the action scenes have is the overuse of Holmes' two steps ahead/slow-mo thing where he plans out a fight in advance of it actually happening. In the first one this only came up once or twice and showcased how impressive a strategic thinker Holmes is, in Shadows it's used far to often and apparently Holmes is now nothing short of psychic. He's predicting stuff there's literally no way he could have seen coming and it goes over the line from being camp/silly to being flat-out retarded. The moment where it goes from retarded to FULL retarded doesn't come until the end when Holmes is having his showdown with Moriarty and starts doing his slow-mo planning stuff and then out of the blue MORIARTY JOINS IN, he and Holmes start chatting, apparently telepathically, whilst they see how their fight would go in slow motion. I know it's meant to show that Moriarty is a match for Holmes and can plan ahead too but seriously, they start talking to each other, that's a fucking telepathic conversation. What in the shit.
I'll just quickly stop and say that I really enjoyed Moriarty in this film, he was very entertaining, convincingly sinister and they did a good job of showing how much of a match he is for Holmes.
Anyway, on to the comedy scenes. The problems here are pretty much the same as the problems with the action scenes, too much too often to the point where it stops being fun. The banter between the characters and the eccentricity of Holmes were handled very well in the first film but shadows deals with both with all the subtlety of a brick to the face. The scene in the trailer that shows Holmes in drag is just as unfunny in the film as it is in those trailers and it just goes on and on for what feels like an eternity. You can practically hear Guy Ritchie screaming at the audience "LAUGH YOU FUCKERS, IT'S A MAN IN A DRESS, LAUGH!"
Then there's the handling of the Holmes/Watson bromance. In the first film it was handled pretty much perfectly, the two actors worked well together, their dialogue was witty and there was a lot of heart to the relationship. They bickered like an old married couple and had their spat over Watson's engagement but you got an genuine sense that these were two guys who really cared about each other and had a strong friendship. In Shadows I'm genuinely surprised there wasn't a scene where Holmes clumsily attempts to give Watson a hand-job. The banter and what-not is still there and it still works but there's a few very awkwardly done jokes about how close the two are and they really don't work. The two worst offenders being when Holmes strips practically naked and asks Watson to lie on the floor with him and the other being their Waltz towards the end. The first film managed to balance humour and heart but Shadows tips the scales way towards the former and the film suffers as a result.
Now that I'm done with the broader problems I can address the more minor stuff.
First of all, characters. Holmes' love interest from film uno, Irene Adler, is done away with quickly and I can't say I was sad to see her go. She was a notable weak point of the first film and I didn't give a single fuck when she was gone. Her 'replacement' in the form of the French gypsy played by the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is okay, she's about as bland as Adler but at least she isn't annoying. That being said was I the only one who didn't care even a little bit about how the sub-plot about her missing brother went? That wasn't interesting even for a minute and came across as a weak excuse to keep her character around. While Adler was annoying at least her sub-plot with Moriarty was interesting.
Stephen Fry is a lot of fun as Holmes' older brother Mycroft and he does a lot to make up for the weaker supporting cast of Shadows. The absence of Inspector Lestrade, who wasn't a major character but who had some very fun exchanges with Holmes and the two really played off each other well, is a notable loss. Not much of the film is set in London so I can see why he was left out but only giving him one line is way too little. Also, the gigantic Frenchman was a far more entertaining from Blandy Mc.Soldier is.
Uh... What else is there... Too much slow motion, it got tedious quite quickly. The last scene was a bit of a cop-out and I personally would've preferred a more ambiguous/bitter-sweet end. That's pretty much it for what I didn't like about it. There's probably other stuff that I've forgotten but I've already produced a substantial wall of text so I'll try to wrap this up.
I wouldn't say Shadows is a bad film, it's just not as good as the first. The Holmes/Watson banter is still a lot of fun and Mycroft and Moriarty are both very entertaining in their own ways. Some of the jokes are solid despite others falling flat and while some of the actions scenes can drag and seem repetitive there are some well done parts here and there. Basically, if the first is a 10 (it isn't but let's not split hairs) then on this scale shadows would be about a 7.
