Please Sir, I Want Some Moriarty

With the most appropriate movie title I can think of in recent memory, "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" is indeed darker, grander, more involving and a great deal better than the first.  Sure, Guy Ritchie may corrupt the classic idea of Sherlock Holmes with a flashier, bangier, boomier version brought to life by Robert Downey Jr., but with the average audience today, isn't that to be expected?  Now if you are going to provide a movie with wild action, explosions and slow motion sequences, why not put a brain in its head?  "A Game of Shadows" has a brain, and that is the Sherlock Holmes I want to see.

The limited strength of the first "Sherlock Holmes" was the interplay between Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes and Jude Law's well-timed take on the good Dr. Watson.  That asset returns here with even greater effect;  they are both leading men, and this sequel recognizes that and allows them vitality in equal measure.  Indeed, much of Sherlock Holmes' motivation this time around is decided by the potential fate of his longest friend and former colleague, Dr. Watson.  As the film opens, Watson is to be married to his long-time fiance, Mary (Kelly Reilly), and this would be splendid save for the fact that the impending nuptials are terribly inconveniant for Sherlock Holmes.  He is on the brink of discovering a dastardly plot somehow involving the genius Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris).

Perhaps the wisest decision of this sequel is the choice of villain, or rather, villains.  Just saying "Moriarty" inspires the very essence of evil to roll off your tongue.  Professor Moriarty is assisted by a skilled sniper, Sebastian Moran (Paul Anderson), who covers the Professor's tracks as he schemes his way toward getting various countries across Europe to go to war.  This displeases Holmes, who tries to stop the Professor at every turn.  This relationship is more complicated than it might seem because Moriarty is every bit Holmes' equal, both intellectually and perhaps even physically.  Both of them know this and it causes each to hold a fair measure of respect toward the other.  Moriarty, perhaps not wanting to eliminate Holmes out of sheer admiration, decides to attack where every great villain does; the heart. 

The first really great sequence happens on a train, as Dr. Watson and Mary journey toward their honeymoon.  Knowing Moriarty is sending assassins to provide a premature 'death do us part', Holmes makes use of his funniest and most unnerving disguise to board the train and warn his good friend, all the while providing some very well-timed safety to Mary.  With a new honeymoon companion, Dr. Watson reluctantly agrees to assist Holmes in tracking down Moriarty to discover his plot before it's too late.  They are joined by a gypsy named Simza (Noomi Rapace), whose brother may or may not be involved in Moriarty's plans.

This journey continues to gain momentum as it races through a middle act full of explosions, skilled gunshots, operas, chases and some truly fantastic sequences in slow motion.  Slow motion is nothing new, and in fact can be tiresome when employed by less-skilled directors (Zack Snyder).  Guy Ritchie provides it a new vitality here in a chase sequence through the woods that sees gunshots, cannon balls, and fast-handed combat all choreographed extremely well.  The slow motion then serves simply to let the audience see all the skill at play and it doesn't feel like a gimmick.  The art direction is as lush as ever and provides authenticity to a Victorian Era Europe that looks gorgeous.  London isn't the only destination this time around as Holmes and Watson follow Moriarty to Paris and Switzerland.

One of the things I love is that Guy Ritchie knows all his old tricks from the first installment and teases us with some of them here, only this time turns them on their head.  An example is Sherlock Holmes' signature ability to plot out every punch and counter-maneuver in his head before the fight even starts.  We see this planning play out in slow motion before the attack is shown full-speed.  He essentially does the same thing here twice, but the first time, an unexpected interruption allows him only the first two moves of his plan at full speed.  The second time, both he and Moriarty are able to use this ability, and the audience is treated to the most entertaining fight coreography played out entirely in the mind since "Inception."  It's brilliant.

Where the first "Sherlock Holmes" was just getting its footing, it was elevated by a magnificant performance by Robert Downey Jr. and his good chemistry with Jude Law.  "A Game of Shadows" improves on that by providing more of what was already great, and brings every other element up to that level.  This is a holiday action tentpole with intelligence to spare and some truly great performances.  Its locations and set pieces provide a visual treat and considering its release window so close to many other Holiday movie options, I hope "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" finds the audience it deserves.  A sacrifice may need to be made however.  Sherlock Holmes makes a sacrifice toward the end of this movie that I think even surprises himself.  The response it gets is very touching.  To provide that at the end of such a grand spectacle full of mindless action shows a certain level of respect to the audience.  It's not unlike what we could imagine Sherlock Holmes affording Professor Moriarty.  Well played.

Should You Choose to Accept It...

The "Mission: Impossible" franchise is somewhat of a paradox.  I believe a character in the first movie even uses that word at some point.  With each new installment in the series differing wildly in scope and tone from the last, you can rest assured that "Ghost Protocol" follows that pattern.  For this reason, I believe the franchise has stayed fresh and kept a still in great shape Tom Cruise on his toes.  Dropping the usual roman numeral from the title, "Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol" has a new jumping off point for where the series could go, and as directed by Brad Bird, it is an exhilarating experience; especially on the IMAX screen.

Brad Bird is no stranger to action, but the kicker here is that "Ghost Protocol" marks his first live-action motion picture, yet he brings much of the same stamina and physicality that he brought to "The Incredibles" and "The Iron Giant."  He is a natural, and it isn't hard to see why he was chosen for this mission.  For one thing, this easily has the best opening credits sequence of the entire series.  It delighted me.  I don't know how much of Bird's input went into the design, but the way the classic fuse is animated and the design of the titles themselves makes me believe it bares his unmistakable signature.  In a strange way, it also harkens back to the opening titles of the television series and other features from the sixties.

 To my knowledge, this is the third feature film since "The Dark Knight" and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" to shoot scenes using the full 70mm IMAX format.  Whenever I see a sequence displayed on that gigantic screen, I furiously wonder why anyone is still trying to make movies in 3D when the IMAX experience is unquestionably better.  Of the film's two hour, twenty four minute running time, somewhere around 28 minutes features IMAX footage and Brad Bird makes ingenious use of that.  Of course the central sequence, much shown in the trailers, is a panic inducing climb up the Burj Khalifa.  The reason for this is simultaneously simple and ingenious.  Ridculous absurdities like that are why this series is a paradox.

I realize I have side-stepped a brief plot discription to give so much praise to Brad Bird, but make no mistake; he deserves it.  I will spare details of the plot, but will mention that it essentially includes an all new team to accompany Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt.  Returning from the third installment is Simon Pegg as Benji but other than that, this is a new roster.  Paula Patton brings a feminine touch to the IMF team as Jane, and Jeremy Renner shows up well into the proceedings as the CIA analyst Brandt, although he may turn out to be something more.  The Impossible Mission this time around is to stop a weapons dealer name Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) from causing nuclear war after he has framed the IMF for a bombing at the Kremlin.  This is simpler in discription than in action, and considering how seldom "Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol" slows down to tell the story, it is amazing to pick up even that much. 

The one glaring weakness to "Ghost Protocol" is the unmemorable bad guy.  Nyqvist does a fine job to be sure, but when "M:I:III" had Phillip Seymour Hoffman seething pure nastiness, how can Hendricks the arms dealer even compare?  He can't, and the whole nuclear missile plot could have been set in motion by anyone for all we care.  Of course, Hendricks and Ethan Hunt must eventually come to blows by the finale, and it's so hard to buy into because you just cannot believe an older, pudgier man would be able to best Tom Cruise in a fist fight.  Lea Seydoux as a female assassin is a much more intimidating presence, and gets a better fight at the Burj Khalifa with Paula Patton.  I'd say the real villains here are the circumstances that keep mounting against the IMF team.  The "Ghost Protocol" of the title means that the entire agency has been disavowed and they must operate off the grid with limited resources and no support.  This provides an opportunity to see some cool new gadgetry even if it doesn't always work properly.  The trademark 'human mask' technology is back but doesn't quite function as expected and in fact, most of what the IMF plans must be scrapped in favor of improvisation at the last minute.

Considering this is Brad Bird's first go with live action, improvisation may be what makes "Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol" work so well in the first place.  It certainly managed to keep it feeling fresh and relevant.  Whether he returns for a fifth installment is hard to say because one of the strengths providing longevity here is the change in director each time out, although the production team on this one includes JJ Abrams, who helmed the third movie.  There is also a rumor that Tom Cruise is to be handing off the franchise to Jeremy Renner, who essentially plays second fiddle here.  I think a better choice would be to balance them out and give each equal opportunity.  Both are more than capable considering the age gap.  Besides, when it comes to leaping out of the 130th floor of the tallest building in the world, could you imagine anyone crazy enough to do it besides Cruise?  Maybe in the next one he could jump out of a plane while jumping up and down on a couch.  Now THAT would be a paradox.