Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (12A)

The rebranding of the famous detective sees its second outing in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows with, the now increasing popular, Robert Downey Jr. (Ironman) playing the lead and ever present Jude Law as Watson. Both abound with charisma as we are taken on a globetrotting duel against the remodelled Professor Moriarty played by the miss cast Jared Harris, who seems more cobbler than academic, rough than expectantly sophisticated. The story is held up by the mysterious gypsy Madam Simza Heron, acted by the subtly powerful Noomi Rapace (Girl with a Dragon Tattoo), who introduces some relieving unpredictability to a round of samey action sequences, which have been replicated from the first film.

The director, Guy Ritchie, is a surprising choice for the film and spells out the direction this franchise is careering in. Action is top of the bill suffused with the token mathematical slow motion and lack of plot. As the film progresses we are treated to a more and more ridiculous Sherlock Holmes and belligerent Watson. At one point Holmes pushes Watson’s wife out of a moving train into a river tens of metres below who is then rescued by the poorly envisioned Mycroft Holmes, played by a disappointingly bumbling Stephen Fry. There is very little of reality here which is what made Holmes such a master in the original story; a detective who controlled and saw through reality to understand the secrets of the criminal mind. Instead we are taken on a cheap ride and the film ends up being a mere parody of something great.

62/100

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) (18)

Uncompromising and brutally frank this remake of the much acclaimed Swedish original throws the viewer into the cold wastes of Northern Europe where two characters from very different backgrounds, each caught up in an out of control storyline, unexpectedly come together to solve the mystery of a missing girl. The female lead, Lisbeth Salander is played by Rooney Mara, her performance powerful and grim, loaded with the baggage of a damaged childhood. She helps out Daniel Craig, a magazine editor called Mikael Blomkvist, who has been enlisted as the investigator during an enforced sabbatical. The film is about these two entrenched central characters and their suffering and only the notable stalwart presence of Christopher Plummer and the emotional Joely Richardson, adds much to the mix. The film therefore hinges on Mara and Craig and both achieve a dispassionately savage approach to the problems they face that keeps the viewer following in their wake. But much of what we see here is the same as the original, the Director David Fincher (Se7en, Alien 3) adding little originality, just not as good and even the shocking violence fails to shock as much as the parent film does. In many ways this 2011 remake of the 2009 film has not had enough time to breathe, the original actors Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist still iconically linked to the roles. Rapace is also fast becoming a super star with her role in the new aliens film Prometheus much banded and secured no doubt after her success in the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It is plain though that this film is gripping and a frank engagement with a hard tortured reality, a worthy watch. No doubt Rooney Mara will also soon benefit from taking on such a demanding role. 

78/100

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