X
- 2011
- PG-13
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 9 m
- 2011
- PG-13
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 9 m
Summary Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room... until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor Moriarty—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 Prin...
Directed By: Guy Ritchie
Written By: Michele Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney, Arthur Conan Doyle
- 2011
- PG-13
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 9 m
- 2011
- PG-13
- Warner Bros.
- 2 h 9 m
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
48
7.4
Where to Watch
Summary Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room... until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor Moriarty—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 Prin...
Directed By: Guy Ritchie
Written By: Michele Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney, Arthur Conan Doyle
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 38 Critic Reviews
48
26% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
61% Mixed
23 Reviews
23 Reviews
13% Negative
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 38 Critic Reviews
48
26% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
61% Mixed
23 Reviews
23 Reviews
13% Negative
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
Set aside your memories of the Conan Doyle stories, save them to savor on a night this winter and enjoy this movie as a high-caliber entertainment.
While director Guy Ritchie's excesses and modern concessions -- among them a lot of explosions -- remain intact, the parts of this second "Sherlock Holmes" are considerably more rewarding.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 705 User Ratings
7.4
73% Positive
513 Ratings
513 Ratings
22% Mixed
156 Ratings
156 Ratings
5% Negative
36 Ratings
36 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 705 User Ratings
7.4
73% Positive
513 Ratings
513 Ratings
22% Mixed
156 Ratings
156 Ratings
5% Negative
36 Ratings
36 Ratings
**** you, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, You don't know Enjoy something with Pure Entertainment............................................................ CRITICS ARE BORING AND CLICHE...............
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Ultimately, the best relationship in the movie remains that of Holmes and Watson, which is to say, Downey and Law. Their pairing is what makes the movie; the explosions and bells and whistles Ritchie employs are mere distractions.
Virtually every set-up and set-piece in this extravagantly tedious adventure is misleading, or worse, irrelevant.
The final 30 odd minutes of this revisionist Holmes explodathon are downright thrilling, and it should go without saying but we'll restate it for the record: Downey Jr. inhabits the role of Sherlock Holmes to a near-molecular level.
Though the film features Holmes' fiercest villain and a plot partially cribbed from "The Final Problem," one of Conan Doyle's most beloved stories, the sense of mystery has gone missing. A most heinous crime has taken place. The fun, too, is nowhere in evidence.
There's nothing here but wreckage. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is so ineptly made that the story is advanced solely through announcements.
There is clever sleight of hand and easy on the eye set pieces which make the second outing of the stylised Sherlcok Holmes equally as enjoyable but more rich in bells and whistles to please fans of Guy Ritchie's interpretation, its best to forget what you know about Arthur Conan Doyle creation, this is very much a build on the person Robert Downey Jr brought to life in the first outing, not a bad thing at all.
The elements of the book have been maintained, as Downey Jr takes the coveted role of the brilliant but erratic detective, joined again by soon to be married John Watson (Jude Law), and they are now faced with the most infamous of villains, Moriarty, played with elegance and encapsulating style by Jared Harris. Holmes and Watson embark on quite the round trip as they attempt to put a halt to a range of atrocities, all pointing to Moriarty, who remains in low profile and is able to cover his tracks without anyone ever suspecting him, until Sherlock Holmes comes along.
Accompanying the film are the beautiful and groundbreaking slow-motion effects of the first, where we see various scenes up close and all that can be done is to sit back and admire. The set pieces are magnificent and satisfying to watch unfold, especially a spectacular train scene that oozes excitement and comedy in every way imaginable. In terms of the story, while there is plenty of explosive action, enough time is spared and used wisely to create some very memorable scenes between Holmes and Moriarty, with Downey Jr and Harris doing stellar jobs of showing the equal wit and intellectual prowess of the two characters, but also giving them their own personality separate from the countless other interpretations.
While it may be brimming with these intelligent lines and excellent writing, its the cast who make it look good, with Stephen Fry taking on the role of Mycroft, the rich and comedic brother of Sherlock, while Noomi Rapace plays Madame Simza, a fortune teller who gets tangled in the complex web of Holmes and his enemies.
A rapturous second outing for this updated take on the classic detective series, with a powerful cast who each give brilliant performances, combine that with a witty, unpredictable and edgy script that is careful to remain true to its roots, but also leave director Guy Ritchie with plenty of room to breathe, its along show but certainly worth each minute that always feels important.
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The second part of a dilogy of Sherlock Holmes from Guy Richie left much worse than the first part. Though at first sight so it doesn't seem, Moriarty has appeared and an action became much more. But the movie sticks in own cliches. The plot is too rectilinear, there is no mysteriousness, you understand everything in advance. And when screenwriters begin to you at the end it in all seriousness causes to explain laughter and a fun. It is a pity that the second part has turned out, not just at the level of the first movie, and it is worse.
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Featuring a similar style to the first Sherlock Holmes, A Game of Shadows struggles due to a poor story and my general lack of amusement from Robert Downey Jr.'s antics as the famed private investigator. However, the villain is compelling and the cat-and-mouse game does provide entertainment. The real star here for me is certainly the costume and production design, as well as the stylish way it is shot. Jude Law is great, as is Noomi Rapace. Guy Ritchie does pretty well in the director's chair as though I did not think the story was nearly as good as that of the first film, it is told well. Yet, the reason why I got any enjoyment out of this one was the aesthetic elements that I mentioned before. Downey does not do it for me, but luckily, the way this one truly captures the time period and makes it come to life is what really appeals to me. Overall, this one falls short of the original, but every film would be improved if it had this set.
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Bad sequel to a movie that started a decent version of Sherlock. Downey is unable to work in this role still and this movie is so boring. Nothing about this movies plot or characters justify this sequels existence.
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Production Company
Warner Bros.,
Village Roadshow Pictures,
Silver Pictures,
Wigram Productions,
Lin Pictures
Release Date Dec 16, 2011
Duration 2 h 9 m
Rating PG-13
Awards
Teen Choice Awards
• 3 Nominations
Golden Trailer Awards
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 2 Nominations
