Episode III: The Great Game
My overall rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Moriarty, enigmatic and invisible, sets up a series of crimes; and he dares Sherlock to solve them against the clock. If Sherlock fails, innocent people will be murdered; if he succeeds, he will find himself the next victim.
Just as it sounds, this was the darkest, grittiest episode. It's not like the majority of the original books, where Sherlock is dealing with eccentrics or one-time criminals--here, he's fighting a very sick, 21st century serial-killer. The episode is greatly one long, nerve-wracking story; there's not much (if any) violence shown, but the implied violence is very frightening. Needless to say, it's not something I'd rewatch any time soon, and I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. [As an aside, it just so happened that we could hear the wind whistling around the roof outside, as we watched this episode; and eventually the power went out. We had to finish the episode the next day or two. Talk about a cliffhanger and a 4D movie...'twas creepy!]
Another problem I have with this episode is the pacing. This is Season 1 (Season 2 is to be filmed this year), but already it seems as if the filmmakers wanted to make this third episode really big scale. The result? The multiple mysteries/subplots were rather confusing, and the appearance of Moriarty came way too soon--that should have waited until a later season. And again, for only being ep. 3, it was really dark and depressing. I just hope that there will be some "private consulting detective" mysteries in Season 2; because that's the biggest Holmesian thing missing in this series.
The portrayal of Moriarty was also disappointing. One of the brilliant things about the books was that Moriarty was an elderly, respectable-looking, genius math prof; and for 37 year-old Holmes to defeat this kind of opponent is the ultimate brainiac battle in classic fiction. However, this contemporary Moriarty is very, very different; and the final confrontation is a bit anti-climactic.
And finally, we have the cliffhanger. Yes, this last episode ends on a cliffhanger; so if you decide to skip this episode, I don't think you will miss out on anything. ;)
Despite these negatives, I did give it 3.5 stars. For one thing, Moriarty is clearly portrayed as the evil person he is, not some glamorous villain, or a "misunderstood guy with a painful past". Secondly, Cumberbatch's Holmes is a strong as ever. He's tough and unemotional; but, as he tells Watson, this is the only way he can stay concentrated. If he lets his feelings distract him, they overcome him and he can't solve the case. Notwithstanding, you can tell that he is affected by the horrible things that happen, which shows that he isn't just a machine underneath.
In summary, BBC's "Sherlock" is a pretty good miniseries for a modernization--surprisingly good. It does have several flaws--mainly, modern morals (i.e. lack thereof) and occasional bad language. However, the dedicated, crime-fighting heroism of Conan Doyle's books is strongly present, even in the 21st century; and Sherlock Holmes (though perhaps a bit too eccentric) is still the same Sherlock Holmes. For an older audience, I think it's a series worth watching. :)
The portrayal of Moriarty was also disappointing. One of the brilliant things about the books was that Moriarty was an elderly, respectable-looking, genius math prof; and for 37 year-old Holmes to defeat this kind of opponent is the ultimate brainiac battle in classic fiction. However, this contemporary Moriarty is very, very different; and the final confrontation is a bit anti-climactic.
And finally, we have the cliffhanger. Yes, this last episode ends on a cliffhanger; so if you decide to skip this episode, I don't think you will miss out on anything. ;)
Despite these negatives, I did give it 3.5 stars. For one thing, Moriarty is clearly portrayed as the evil person he is, not some glamorous villain, or a "misunderstood guy with a painful past". Secondly, Cumberbatch's Holmes is a strong as ever. He's tough and unemotional; but, as he tells Watson, this is the only way he can stay concentrated. If he lets his feelings distract him, they overcome him and he can't solve the case. Notwithstanding, you can tell that he is affected by the horrible things that happen, which shows that he isn't just a machine underneath.
In summary, BBC's "Sherlock" is a pretty good miniseries for a modernization--surprisingly good. It does have several flaws--mainly, modern morals (i.e. lack thereof) and occasional bad language. However, the dedicated, crime-fighting heroism of Conan Doyle's books is strongly present, even in the 21st century; and Sherlock Holmes (though perhaps a bit too eccentric) is still the same Sherlock Holmes. For an older audience, I think it's a series worth watching. :)
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