Another excellent outing for Rathbone and Bruce as Holmes and Watson. This time Holmes faces his most well known nemesis Moriarty. The film begins with Moriarty being found innocent of murder, with Holmes bursting into the courtroom just a few seconds too late. After the courtroom scene we see Holmes and Moriarty
talking together like real competitors, without the hate you'd find between most enemies. They certainly have admiration for each other, and this admiration makes the film so enjoyable. Despite the fact that people's lives and reputations are at risk, you can easily tell they enjoy competing with each other. Moriarty then sends Holmes on a number of wild goose chases to conceal his real crime. I did like seeing Moriarty by himself and his love for plants. His clearly showed him as having a limited connection with humans. A simple act of not watering his plants also showed his talents are similar to Holmes'. Unfortunately, telling the audience that the mysteries are wild goose chases means we are waiting for Holmes to catch up with us. Like the previous effort the setting becomes a character in itself. The occupied streets of London are just as cold, dark, and sinister as the moors. This kind of makes the murders even more devilish. Watson is used more for comedic relief, which is annoying at times, as he ends up getting blamed for things that go wrong. Rathbone is at the centre stage here and he holds it well. He is always calm, but adds a sense of urgency when needed to heighten our excitement. His disguise was once again brilliant, and I didn't guess it this time. A great stylish offering.
December 30, 2011
