Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

2011 "The game is afoot."
7.4| 2h9m| PG-13| en| More Info
Released: 16 December 2011 Released
Producted By: Village Roadshow Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://sherlockholmes2.warnerbros.com/index.html
Info

There is a new criminal mastermind at large (Professor Moriarty) and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil and lack of conscience may give him an advantage over the detective.

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Director

Guy Ritchie

Production Companies

Village Roadshow Pictures

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Audience Reviews

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Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
CommentsXp Best movie ever!
Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
cinemajesty Movie Review: "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" (2011)After the immense success of a reinvention of the "Sherlock Holmes" theme created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1931) through Director Guy Ritchie in making it a competing comic book adaptation punisher, where picture, sounds and music comes together in ultra-slow-motion shots generated by an Phantom HD Camera combined with Panavision Primo Lenses in Philipp Rousselot's camera department, which benefits an intriguing, well-twisted, yet sensation-mongering, injuiced with slight humorous slapsticked screenplay by Michele and Kieran Mulroney to challenge any recent fantasy action movie even after six years in the circuit.The cast surrounding Robert Downey Jr., as the street fighting version of an Sherlock Holmes character, with Dr. Watson, portrayed by matchmaking Jude Law to a further benefiting female cast beat challenging actress Rachel McAdams and second sidekicking supporting actress Noomi Rapace as Madame Simzo Heron, hunt to follow spider-web spreading Holmes' nemesis Professor James Moriarty, in viciously venom-breathing intelligence-exceeding performance by actor Jared Harris, even back-shadowing the character of Lord Blackwood by Mark Strong from the initiative "Sherlock Holmes" (2009).Producer Joel Silver, again showing his qualities in letting the director do his thing, overthrew himself with Warner Bros. Studios concerning marketing strategies of this clearly improving picture over the 2009er version in puncto drive, pace and event action for the holiday season escapology theories of U.S. domestic movie-goers, which should have filled more seats worldwide without the inability to place it apart against a raging much more PR-clarified "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" and the hard-core loving minority at screenings of the English-speaking remake of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" directed by David Fincher, making the winter 2011/2012 easily the best holiday season of a decade, where quality and daring creative choices on-set ruled a Hollywood production.© 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)
classicalsteve One of the first criminal-geniuses in genre fiction is Professor Moriarty, the ever-present nemesis of Sherlock Holmes. The latter calls him "The Napoleon of Crime". Part of a successful Holmes film is how well Moriarty is portrayed. In this installment of the Robert Downey/Jude Law Sherlock Holmes film series, Moriarty is played by Jared Harris, a British actor and one of the best casting choices for the role to date. (Andrew Scott also makes a fine Moriarty, albeit a younger version, in the updated-modernized "Holmes" BBC series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.) Prior to Moriarty, few if any criminal-geniuses were portrayed in genre literature, and Conan Doyle's creation remains one of the best. (Later characters in genre fiction of a similar nature include the Joker, Mr. Ripley, Lex Luther, and Dr. Hannibal Lecter.)The film is at first rather confusing. We learn there have been a series of unexplained explosions around London causing lots of carnage, dismay, grief, and fascination for Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.). A woman then carries a package to a wealthy older man attending an art auction, which turns out to be a bomb discovered by you-know-who. Inside the bomb-package is a letter addressed to a gypsy fortune teller who practices at a cabaret in London. During a bachelor party for Dr. Watson (Jude Law), Holmes intervenes to save the gypsy from an assassin. We don't quite understand the connection between the gypsy and the bombings until well into the film.Holmes soon realizes Moriarty, who fronts as an Oxford professor, is behind the attacks, but he doesn't know why. He meets with the professor at his office at Oxford and there Moriarty claims he is intrigued with Holmes' abilities, the only reason Holmes hasn't been blown to bits like other lesser Londoners. They agree to engage in a chess match of sorts. Moriarty, in true Conan Doyle style, believes he will outdo Holmes. Thereafter, Sherlock and Watson meet with his brother, Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) who indicates he will be attending a peace conference in Switzerland where the major powers will negotiate to prevent an international war. Eventually, as events plays out, the peace conference and Moriarty's scheming will intersect.The typical devices of the first film are all here, particularly the slow-motion flash-backs and action sequences with Holmes' voice-over describing what's "really happened". Although much of the movie is probably not what Doyle had in mind, Downey still makes a splendid Holmes, always playing his character just a bit understated. Jude Law reprises as the straight-man Dr. Watson, although his character is not quite as well-developed as Martin Freeman's interpretation of the character in "Sherlock". Highest marks for Jared Harris as Moriarty who nearly steals the show. Despite some of the confusion at the beginning, it's enjoyable once the plot becomes clear.
tomgillespie2002 In 2009 Sherlock Holmes was re-imagined by Guy Ritchie as an ass- kicking and mentally unstable private investigator with a weakness for a variety of mind-altering substances. Played by Robert Downey Jr., Holmes was Iron Man without the vast fortune, super-suit and fashionable beard, but with the same genius-level intellect, capable of predicting the exact outcome of a fight with a foe before the first punch is thrown. Though heavily compromised by Ritchie's sledgehammer subtlety and love for annoying Cockney geezers, it was still an entertaining take on an extremely familiar character, with Downey Jr. at his twitchy best and demonstrating a convincing English accent.A Game of Shadows, the bloated sequel rushed into production after the international success of its predecessor, turns the doctor from idiosyncratic eccentric to a babbling pantomime. When we meet Holmes, he is rescuing his flame Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) from a bomb intended for somebody else. The package was given to her by the scheming Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), and after her next meeting with him, she disappears. On the eve of his wedding, Dr. Watson (Jude Law) arrives at Baker Street to find Holmes deep into investigating a splurge of seemingly unrelated murders and business acquisitions linked to Moriarty, and at Watson's bachelor party, the two encounter a gypsy woman named Simza (Noomi Rapace), the intended recipient of the letter that accompanied the bomb.Without any sign of the storytelling flair of the books, A Game of Shadows becomes little more than a series of punch-ups, shoot-outs and inane exchanges between Holmes and his trusted Watson. At one point, the heroes are fired at by an increasingly ridiculous arsenal of machine guns as trees shatter and fireballs explode around them in ultra slo-mo. Any resemblance to one of literatures most beloved characters is lost, and it feels instead like you're watching a movie about The Transporter's British granddad, albeit with a touch more style. Mad Men's Harris is impressive as Holmes's most challenging foe, but Rapace's character is so redundant that she is reduced to just a pretty face for the poster. Shockingly, the main problem is Downey Jr., whose hyperactive shtick is as tiresome as the plot he is caught up in.
CinemaClown Despite making the right move of heading into the darker territory, the follow-up chapter to Sherlock Holmes fails to capitalise on the excellent platform provided by its predecessor and is a highly disappointing sequel that presents a downgrade in each storytelling element, tries too hard to be funny, and is also marred by its poor rendition of Holmes' arch-enemy.Following the events of the first film, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows continues the adventures of Detective Holmes & his companion, Dr. Watson, as they travel across Europe in a race to prevent their fiercest adversary, Professor Moriarty, from executing his sinister plot of starting a global war, only to find that their enemy is always one step ahead.Directed by Guy Ritchie, A Game of Shadows features more style & visual flair than its already impressive predecessor but fails to add anything of substance to its story or characters. Art direction is incredibly alluring, Camera-work adds a few more tricks up its sleeve but the use of slow-motion shots borders on excessive, Editing is terrible while Hans Zimmer's score is very much a rehash of the original.Coming to the performances, Robert Downey Jr. & Jude Law reprise their respective roles of Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson and while their chemistry works, their performance was much better in the last picture. The new additions include Jared Harris, Noomi Rapace & Stephen Fry and all of them disappoint for Harris' Moriarty isn't intimidating at all, Rapace just wanders around while Fry is annoying at times.On an overall scale, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is inferior on all levels for this sequel completely fails to build on the solid foundation of its predecessor, is tedious to sit through, offers nothing captivating enough to keep the interest alive, and despite the modest expectations, fails to recreate the magic of the original. Putting more emphasis on action than its plot or characters, A Game of Shadows is an inferior, insipid & uninspiring movie that ends up making a mockery of two of Arthur Conan Doyle's greatest creations.