Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows (Guy Ritchie, 2011)
There’s a case to be made for nominating Sherlock Holmes as the first true superhero. His costume may not have been as silly or sexy but he made up for this with his awesome powers of perception.
He predates Marvel Comics by half a century and has more in common with Nietzsche’s Übermensch than the DC Comics’ Superman created in 1932.
Guy Ritchie’s second Holmes movie emphasises the adaptability and durability of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation.
For convenience it is set in Victorian times but the supercharged action sequences belong more to Sci-Fi movies like Source Code or Matrix.
It is so loud and hyperactive that it becomes an almost overwhelming assault on the senses. The stop-action, slow-motion. fast-forward, freeze frame fight sequences are mostly spectacular but you also get the notion that Ritchie is like a spoilt child in a gigantic toy shop – “fuck it, I want it ALL and I want it NOW! Subtlety is not his strong point. Continue reading
The fact that philosopher Frederick Nietzsche went insane in his mid forties may count him as an unreliable source but his definition of freedom from The Gay Science (Die fröhliche Wissenschaft, 1882) is one I copied down in 1981 and still rings true:
