Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadow’s Vs Sherlock Series 2!

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Two completely different approaches to a famous story, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows directed by Guy Ritchie and the BBC’s modern adaptation titled Sherlock! both appear on screens at the same time, just like both did previously a couple of years ago. Is it a coincidence that there wasn’t really any current adaptations of the Arthur Conan Doyle classic stories about the famous detective and his sidekick, until both the movie and the show appeared at the same time? Two years on and it still seems like one cannot exist without the other, namely has Stephan Moffett used the Hollywood production as a way to boost his own viewership? Today’s blog is a comparison between the first episode of the BBC produced show ‘Sherlock’ and the Hollywood produced ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Being a huge fan of Mr Robert Downey Jr and the previous installment in the film franchise I had high expectations for this sequel. Most of the time sequel films are perceived to be lesser to some degree than the original and therefore going into a film hoping it’s better than it’s predecessor is perhaps not the best way to watch a film. Instead what we as viewers should really try is to walk in with an open mind and a clean slate.

Did this new film impress as a standalone film alone? or did it enhance the franchise alongside it’s first film? My answer neither, although I liked A Game of Shadows that all I felt towards it. The chemistry between the two leads of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law that helped make the first film successful wasn’t really addressed, there was less humour throughout and as for a storyline… I kept waiting to for a story to appear but it was only about 30 mins before the end of the 2 hour long film that I decided what the film was actually about. Gone was the famous Sherlock analysis, gone was the wit and humor of the first film and most importantly gone was the audience’s attention. Looking at my phone to see the time at several points throughout the film clearly meant that my attention was starting to wonder, thinking it was just me who couldn’t really concentrate on the half-arsed plotline I was surprised to find that my entire family was sitting in the dark thinking the same thing. At the end of the film when discussing whether we liked the film or not my mother actually sighed with relief stating ‘thank god it wasn’t just me’. Although we all said the film was alright and the acting was as flawless as ever we all decided that too much effort was spent on making the film look good, the visuals, especially during the fight scenes was fantastic. One scene that stands out the most is one within a forest, guns, bombs and more guns provide for a bit of tension and a visually stunning piece of cinematography which perhaps might have been good in 3d.

Another thing that we all disliked within the film is the supposed death of Irene Adler, famous female counterpart and love interest to Sherlock himself, Rachel McAdams reprises her role in a short cameo that in my opinion didn’t sit well with audience members. If they were to really kill off a major character they should have found a more befitting ending rather than the uninspiring end devised by Sherlock’s arch-nemesis! Again, something that both the new film and the new series share in common aside from similar musical scores and well timed releases is that Moriarty the famous enemy of Sherlock makes an appearance and is clearly a very important part of the story.

Again what could have potentially been the making of the film appeared to be part of it’s downfall, the presence of Moriarty throughout the entire film felt like an obvious ploy to draw audience’s through the door. However, his appearance left me wanting more suspense rather than his every move being almost outwitted by Sherlock. Sometimes ‘less is more’ and in this particular case I believe the presence of Moriarty could have been cut back and perhaps used for a 3rd film in the franchise which based on sales I would guess is going to be in the pipeline. Even the presence of one of my personal favorite’s Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s brother was not enough to keep my interest. Don’t get me wrong the film was mostly watchable and the performances from the actors was superb but the storyline I felt was so lacking that if they were to make another film I would seriously consider waiting to watch it when it’s released on DVD.

So was Sherlock the modern day adaptation shown on the BBC any better than the newest film? Hmmmm perhaps….. just a little.

Sherlock Series 2 Episode 1: A Scandal in Belgravia

The Stephen Moffatt and Mark Gatiss modern day adaptation of the classic Arthur Conan Doyle stories was critical praised when it’s first series was shown in 2009, a long gap of over a year before we could see any more stories meant that the expectation on it’s return was high. People expecting the show to be of equal footing to it’s first series if not better. Did I find that it lived up to it’s hype? No I did not. Unfortunately I was again left with little understanding of the plot, I understood what I was watching but in terms of individual stories it was poor, perhaps it was never meant to be seen in the standalone sense like the first series was, the introduction of Irene Adler rather than her demise like the the film’s sequel excited and intrested viewers like me for all of 5 seconds. It felt pointless that she was to appear throughout the entire episode. The ending was obvious from fairly early on that Sherlock would help her and again giving too much away about a new character ruins any type of suspense the audience may feel. What the show did more successfully than the film though was to over-indulge in the Moriarty storyline, instead with the actor only appearing briefly but at important times leads me to believe that the running storyline arch for the series should develop at a interesting pace with the audience questioning what Moriarty is really up to.

I also found that the humour was still present in the series and that Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman were both as good as ever as Sherlock and Dr Holmes respectively, perhaps one of my favourite pieces was when Sherlock spent a few minutes analysing poor Molly Hooper’s Christmas gift to a mysterious man only to realise he was the intended recipient too late.

Overall I found the episode to be decent although not as good I would have expected from the excellent offerings of the last series. My only hope is that the series gets better in the remaining two episodes and that my opinion changes as can sometimes happen.

Have you watched the film, or the show or both? What did you like about them?

Till next time,

Your Loyal Friend,

April xxx

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