Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Reviews Counted: 202
Fresh: 122 | Rotten: 80
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a good yarn thanks to its well-matched leading men but overall stumbles duplicating the well-oiled thrills of the original.
Average Rating: 5.4/10
Critic Reviews: 41
Fresh: 17 | Rotten: 24
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a good yarn thanks to its well-matched leading men but overall stumbles duplicating the well-oiled thrills of the original.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 115,847
My Rating
Movie Info
Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) has always been the smartest man in the room...until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large-Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris)-and not only is he Holmes' intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock
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Cast
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Robert Downey Jr.
Sherlock Holmes -
Jude Law
Dr. John Watson, Dr. Wa... -
Noomi Rapace
Madam Simza Heron, Sim -
Rachel McAdams
Irene Adler -
Jared Harris
Professor James Moriart... -
Stephen Fry
Mycroft Holmes -
Paul Anderson
Col. Sebastian Moran -
Kelly Reilly
Mary Watson -
Geraldine James
Mrs. Hudson -
Eddie Marsan
Inspector Lestrade -
William Houston
Constable Clark -
Wolf Kahler
Doctor Hoffmanstahl -
Iain Mitchell
Auctioneer -
Jack Laskey
Carruthers -
Patricia Slater
Shush Club Maitre D -
Karima Adebibe
Shush Club Maitre D -
Richard Cunningham
Businessman -
Marcus Shakesheff
Hashisheen -
Mark Sheals
Cock Fight Referee -
George Taylor
University Student -
Michael Webber
Vicar -
Mike Grady
Train Conductor -
Alexandre Carril
Twin -
Victor Carril
Twin -
Thorston Manderlay
Alfred Meinhard -
Ben Badra
Tamas -
Daniel Naprous
Marko -
Lancelot Weaver
Stefan -
Vladimir Furdik
Andrzej -
Jacques Senet Larson
Gypsy Kid -
Nicolas Senet Larson
Gypsy Kid -
Sebastian Senet Larson
Gypsy Kid -
Alexander Devrient
Gypsy -
Fatima Adoum
Gypsy -
Stanley Kaye
Stanley -
Thierry Neuvic
Claude Ravache -
Martin Nelson
Commendatore -
Mark Llewelyn-Evans
Don Giovanni -
Anthony Inglis
Conductor -
Ian Wilson-Pope
Leporello -
Pamela Hay
Elvira -
Laurence Dobiesz
Servant -
Peter Stark
German Officer -
Roman Jankovic
German Officer -
Frederick Ruth
Ballroom Attendant -
Carsten Hayes
Ballroom Photographer -
Jonathan Christie
Diplomat -
James McNeill
Diplomat -
Laurentiu Possa
Rene Heron -
Maitland Chandler
Banker -
Joe Egan
Big Joe -
Clive Russell
Captain Tanner
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All Critics (202) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (127) | Rotten (80) | DVD (12)
It's complete trash and makes a mockery of Holmes's vaunted deductive reasoning.
Top CriticDowney's career is something of a game of shadows, but it's one still worth playing, for now.
Downey and Law remain this presumptive franchise's draw.
What this film really celebrates is crunch-and-thud video-game-style action, not especially well choreographed by director Guy Ritchie.
It doesn't take a master of deduction to see that Ritchie has decided to play it too safe with this sequel.
In an act of criminal negligence, Ritchie has wasted Robert Downey Jr. in a sequel that eliminates smarts in favor of relentless headbanging.
A welcome return for the World's Greatest Detective Other Than Batman, and a sequel that impressively conspires to be more challenging than its predecessor.
As it stands, with its engrossing-yet-obscured-by-over-the-top-CGI plot, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is little more than elementary, my dear moviegoer.
It's still a nonstop barrage, but somehow Sherlock Homes: Game of Shadows is a little easier to take than its predecessor.
The truth about this Game of Shadows and its predecessor is that neither has a story worthy of its hero. The story is not only often improbable, it is often simply impossible to follow.
The mystery and fun of the first feature is replaced with a bland miscast villain and slam-bang action nonsense, none of which is very impressive.
An oddball blockbuster that gets better when it gets to be "too much"; as for Warner's handsomely mounted Blu-ray, less is more.
Welcome to the 21st Century edition of Sherlock Holmes, a well-rounded gent as likely to flex his brawn as his brain!
It's too different an interpretation of the iconic Holmes character to appeal to everyone. That said, I found it mostly fun. (Blu-ray Combo edition)
The overall effect is of sort of Steam Punk Toulouse Lautrec portrait, intricately designed, occasionally visually dazzling, and well-acted throughout.
The bromance nearly boils over in this messy but satisfying sequel to the 2009 feature.
I actually enjoyed A Game of Shadows more than the original. This will be entertaining for those of you who enjoyed the original and others who just will watch RDJ in anything.
If only they'd spent the cash on a bad guy with stature, instead of taking that phrase, "the banality of evil," so literally. Playing this Game might have been even more fun.
If this film is an indicator of the quality of films in 2012 I'll be praying that the Mayans were right about this little blue planet going boom.
The effort to reproduce the spontaneity of the previous film's success imbues A Game of Shadows with a weary tone of overexertion.
Dear Guy Ritchie: My name is Robin Hood. I need to be brought into today's world of short attention spans, nonreading, and lovable, cantankerous heroes. If you can turn Sherlock into a glib, pompous ass, imagine what you can do for me.
Se volta a representar uma experiência divertida e cheia de energia, desaponta também por jamais oferecer algo de novo ou realmente interessante.
The whole movie, chock full of queer undertone, is one long sly smile-and deliciously so.
Guy Ritchie digs deep into his trusted bag of tricks and turns his patented stylised action filmmaking up to maximum wattage. Fortunately, Ritchie still manages to create an entertaining film in spite of his excessive ways.
Audience Reviews for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Super Reviewer
In a lot of ways, this really isn't all t hat different from the 2009 film. We get some of the same cast, some filmmakers, and the some kind of hyper-realistic style Guy Ritchie is known for. One of the best examples of the sweet slow-mo is the shooting in the woods. That scene is great.
Jared Harris is a nice addition as Moriarty, though I suspect that the literary version is better. Still though, he's not bad. I also liked Stephen Fry as Sherlock's brother, and Noomi Rapace as the gypsy- a role she pretty much seems a natural fit for.
Law and Downey Jr. continue to have great chemistry together, and the film blends the action and humor fairly well. It's not a masterpiece by any means, but it's nevertheless a fun way to pass a couple of hours.
Super Reviewer
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- Sherlock Holmes: It's so overt...it's covert.
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- Madam Simza Heron: A wagon is too slow. Can't you ride?
- Dr. John Watson: It's not that he can't ride. How is it that you put it, Holmes?
- Sherlock Holmes: [horses] They're dangerous at both ends and crafty in the middle. Why would I want anything with a mind of its own bobbing about between my legs?
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- Professor James Moriarty: Let's not waste anymore of one another's time. We both know how this ends.
-
- Sherlock Holmes: Lie down with me, Watson.
- Dr. John Watson: Why?!
- Sherlock Holmes: I insist.
- Dr. John Watson: You... What are we doing down here?
- Sherlock Holmes: We are waiting. I am smoking.
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- Professor James Moriarty: The laws of celestial mechanics dictate that when two objects collide, there is always damage, of a collateral nature.
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- Professor James Moriarty: Now, are you sure you want to play this game?
- Sherlock Holmes: I'm afraid, you would lose.
Discussion Forum
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Latest News on Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
September 17, 2012:
Jude Law Talks Sherlock Holmes 3"We're a very happy team and we have a lot of fun and we also think there's still a lot of legs in...
June 12, 2012:
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of ShadowsThis week on home video, we've got action, we've got comedy, we've got drama, and we've got...
December 18, 2011:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Sherlock Holmes Wins the WeekendThis weekend, three big Hollywood sequels led the North American box office pumping in some badly...
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Foreign Titles
- Sherlock Holmes: Spiel im Schatten (DE)
- Sherlock Holmes 2 : Jeu d'ombres (FR)
It was established in the first film that Downey's Holmes is much more the action figure than the text intended, but if you can forgive that, then this film, as the first, is solid and entertaining. Director Guy Ritchie as usual does tend to teeter into excess in his style over substance approach (he doesn't really give you the chance to be fully absorbed in the film... ie. Forgetting that you are watching a film - mainly due to his overuse of camera techniques; in particular the stop action/slow mo/fast mo that dates back to the Matrix films - especially in a overly long "escape" scene with the heroes running through the woods as bullets fly around them). It is this scene and a couple of others that could have used a bit of judicious editing to prevent the film from bogging down - but that being said, the chess match (real and metaphorical) between Holmes and arch villain Moriarty (a wonderful turn by Richard Harris' son Jared) certainly makes for compelling viewing.
Ritchie also uses an interesting technique to let you "inside" Holmes' brain. Showing us how and why he will execute certain maneuvers and assessing their potential - and then showing us the action and the result in real time. This could be off-putting to some, but I found it a stroke of brilliance; especially at the film's climax when Holmes' "thoughts" are interrupted by Moriarty. A kind of "well, if you do this, then I'll do that" bit of sophistry akin to thinking 3 moves ahead on a chess board.
This film, as was the case with its predecessor, has a fair amount of humor (the scene with Holmes aboard a pony was laugh out loud funny), and really - it's this insertion of humor that tells you that you are watching "entertainment" - that Ritchie knew going in that this was not something to be treated in utmost seriousness.
There are a few other flaws that I tend to overlook - for example Jude Law's Watson overemphasizes his war wound limp at film's beginning... which of course totally disappears when the script needs him to transform into an action hero. There is also the rather hackneyed sentiments about Watson's wedding and how that will allegedly effect Holmes - you kind of role your eyes and move on to the meat of the matter - the sublime cat and mouse game between Holmes and Moriarty - ignore the rest and you will be totally entertained.