Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a 2011 British-American action mystery film directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey, and Dan Lin. It is a sequel to the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes, based on the character of the same name created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The screenplay is written by Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney. Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law reprise their roles as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson,
and several other actors appear as characters they played in the 2009
film. Holmes and Watson join forces to outwit and bring down their most
cunning adversary, Professor Moriarty, played by Jared Harris. The film is specifically influenced by Conan Doyle's work The Final Problem, but it is an independent story rather than a strict adaptation.[4] Reviews for the film were generally mixed.
Plot
In 1891, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams)
delivers a package to Dr. Hoffmanstahl—payment for a letter he was to
deliver. Hoffmanstahl opens the package, triggering a hidden bomb which
is prevented from detonating by the intervention of Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.).
Holmes takes the letter and disposes of the bomb while Adler and
Hoffmanstahl escape. Holmes later finds Hoffmanstahl assassinated. Adler
meets with Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) to explain the events, but Moriarty poisons her—deeming her position compromised by her love for Holmes.
Some time later, Dr. Watson (Jude Law) arrives at 221B Baker Street,
where Holmes discloses that he is investigating a series of seemingly
unrelated murders, terrorist attacks, and business acquisitions, that he
has connected to Moriarty. Holmes meets with the Gypsy fortune-teller Simza (Noomi Rapace),
the intended recipient of the letter he had taken from Adler, sent by
her brother Rene. Holmes defeats an assassin sent to kill Simza, but she
flees before Holmes can interrogate her. After Mary (Kelly Reilly)
and Watson's wedding, Holmes meets Moriarty for the first time.
Moriarty informs Holmes that he murdered Adler and will kill Watson and
Mary if Holmes' interference continues.
Moriarty's men attack Watson and Mary on a train to their honeymoon.
Holmes, having followed the pair for protection, throws Mary from the
train into a river below where she is picked up by Holmes' waiting
brother Mycroft (Stephen Fry).
After defeating Moriarty's men, Holmes and Watson travel to Paris to
locate Simza. When she is found, Holmes tells Simza that she has been
targeted because Rene is working for Moriarty, and may have told her
about his plans. Simza takes the pair to the headquarters of an anarchist group to which she and Rene had formerly belonged. They learn that the anarchists have been forced to plant bombs for Moriarty.
The trio follows Holmes's deduction that the bomb is in the Paris Opera.
However, Holmes realizes too late that he has been tricked and that the
bomb is in a nearby hotel; the bomb kills a number of assembled
businessmen. Holmes discovers that the bomb was a cover for the
assassination of Meinhart—one of the attendees—by Moriarty's aide,
Sebastian Moran (Paul Anderson).
Meinhart's death grants Moriarty ownership of Meinhart's weapons
factory in Germany. Holmes, Watson, and Simza travel there, following
clues in Rene's letters.
At the factory, Moriarty captures, interrogates and tortures Holmes,
while Watson is under sniper fire from Moran. Holmes spells out
Moriarty's horrific plot, revealing that the Professor secretly acquired
and owns shares in multiple war-profiting
companies, and intends to instigate a world war to make himself a
fortune. Meanwhile, Watson uses the cannon he had been hiding behind to
destroy the lighthouse in which Moran is concealed. The structure
collapses into the warehouse where Moriarty is holding Holmes captive.
Watson, Simza, and an injured Holmes reunite and escape aboard a moving
train. Holmes deduces that Moriarty's final target will be a peace
summit in Switzerland, creating an international incident.
At the summit, Holmes reveals that Rene is the assassin and that he
is disguised as one of the ambassadors—having been given radical reconstructive surgery
by Hoffmanstahl to alter his appearance. Holmes and Moriarty, who is
also in attendance, retreat outside to discuss their competing plans.
Watson and Simza find Rene and stop his assassination attempt, but Rene
is himself silenced by Moran. Outside, Holmes reveals that he previously
replaced Moriarty's personal diary that contained all his plans and
financing with a duplicate. The original was sent to Mary in London, who
decrypted the code using a book that Holmes had noticed in Moriarty's
office during their first meeting. Mary passes the information to
Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan)
who seizes the bulk of Moriarty's assets, financially crippling him.
Holmes and Moriarty anticipate an impending physical confrontation, and
both realize Moriarty would win due to Holmes' injured shoulder. Holmes
instead grapples Moriarty and forces them both over the balcony and into
the Reichenbach waterfall below.
Their bodies are not found. Following Holmes' funeral, Watson and
Mary prepare to have their belated honeymoon when Watson receives a
package containing a breathing device of Mycroft's that Holmes had
noticed before the summit. Contemplating that Holmes may still be alive,
Watson leaves his office to find the delivery man. Holmes, having
concealed himself in Watson's office, reads a fresh eulogy on Watson's
typewriter and adds a question mark after the words "The End".
Cast
- Robert Downey, Jr. as Sherlock Holmes[5]
- Jude Law as Dr. John Watson[5]
- Noomi Rapace as Madame Simza Heron[6]
- Jared Harris as Professor James Moriarty[7][8]
- Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes[7][9]
- Kelly Reilly as Mary Morstan-Watson[5]
- Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler[10]
- Eddie Marsan as Inspector Lestrade[11]
- Geraldine James as Mrs. Hudson[7]
- Paul Anderson as Sebastian Moran[12]
- Fatima Adoum[13] as Gypsy
- Affif Ben Badra as Tamas
Production
After the success of the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes, a sequel was fast tracked by Warner Bros. with director Guy Ritchie dropping out of an adaptation of Lobo and Robert Downey, Jr. leaving Cowboys & Aliens.[14] It was unclear if Rachel McAdams would appear in the film. McAdams said, "If I do, it won't be a very big thing. It's not a lead part".[15] On 4 February 2011, Warner Bros. confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that McAdams would play a part in the sequel.[10]
The film was reported to be influenced by Conan Doyle's The Final Problem.[4] While the film took place a year after the events of the first film,[4] Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was intended to be a stand-alone film that did not require knowledge of the previous film.[4]
In October 2010, Downey, Jr. and Jude Law were seen rehearsing a fight scene as shooting took place in Richmond Park, in south-west London.[16] In October 2010, the steamship PS Waverley was chartered on the English Channel for filming, and a large green screen was erected at Didcot Railway Centre with a large action scene filmed there in mid-November.[7] In late November, a scene was filmed at Victoria Bridge, which is part of the Severn Valley Railway. In January 2011, scenes were also filmed at Hampton Court Palace. Filming also took place in September 2011 in Greenwich at the Royal Naval College.[17]
In early February 2011, principal photography moved for two days to Strasbourg, France. Shooting took place on, around, and inside the Strasbourg Cathedral. The scene was said to be the opening scene of the film, as it covered an assassination/bombing in a German-speaking town.[18]
The film was released on 16 December 2011 in Canada, the United
States, and the United Kingdom, on 25 December 2011 in most other
countries and was released on 30 December 2011 in India and on 5 January
2012 in Australia, Poland and Spain.[5]
Reception
Box office
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows has earned $186,677,304 in
North America, as of March 18, 2012, as well as $335,600,000 in other
countries, as of March 18, 2012, for a worldwide total of $522,277,304.[3] It is the 12th highest-grossing film of 2011 worldwide.[19]
In North America, it topped the box office on its opening day with $14.6 million,[20][21] down from the opening-day gross of the original film ($24.6 million).[22]
During the weekend, it grossed $39.6 million, leading the box office
but earning much less than the opening weekend of its predecessor ($62.3
million).[23] By the end of its theatrical run, it became the 9th highst-grossing film of 2011.[24]
Outside North America, the film earned $14.6 million on its opening weekend, finishing in third place.[25] It topped the overseas box office during three consecutive weekends in January 2012.[26][27][28]
It eventually surpassed its predecessor's foreign total ($315.0
million). In the UK, Ireland and Malta, its highest-grossing market
after North America, the film achieved a first-place opening of £3.83
million[29] ($5.95 million),[30] over a three-day period, compared to the £3.08 million earned in two days by the original film.[31]
It earned $41.8 million in total. Following in largest totals were
Russia and the CIS ($28.4 million) and Italy ($24.5 million).[32]
[edit] Critical response
The film received generally mixed reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
reports that 60% of 194 critics have given the film a positive review,
with a rating average of 6.1 out of 10. The consensus is "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".[33] Metacritic,
which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from
mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 48 based on 38 reviews.[34] CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was a "A-minus" on an A+ to F scale.[35]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times
gave the film three and a half stars out of four, calling it
"high-caliber entertainment" that "add[s] a degree of refinement and
invention" to the formula, and that the "writers ... wisely devote some
of their best scenes to one-on-ones between Holmes and Moriarty."[36] James Berardinelli gave the film three stars out of four, writing: "A Game of Shadows is a stronger, better realized movie that builds upon the strengths of the original and jettisons some of the weaknesses."[37] Conversely, Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club felt that the film "aims lower than its predecessor's modest ambition, and still misses the mark."[38]
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Saturn Awards | Best Action/Adventure Film | Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | Pending | [39] |
| Best Costume | Jenny Beavan | Pending |
Home media
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 12th.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack to this film was composed and produced by Hans Zimmer.
The soundtrack was released on December 13, 2011. Purchase of the
physical, enhanced CD includes an insert allowing the free download of
three bonus tracks from the score.[40][41][42]
The soundtrack includes a segment based on the Ennio Morricone theme to the 1970 Don Siegel film Two Mules for Sister Sara.
| Track Listing | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Length | |||||
| 1. | "I See Everything" | Hans Zimmer | 0:39 | ||||||
| 2. | "That Is My Curse (Shadows – Part 1)" | Hans Zimmer | 1:51 | ||||||
| 3. | "Tick Tock (Shadows – Part 2)" | Hans Zimmer | 8:12 | ||||||
| 4. | "Chess (Shadows – Part 3)" | Hans Zimmer | 7:34 | ||||||
| 5. | "It’s So Overt It’s Covert" | Hans Zimmer | 3:19 | ||||||
| 6. | "Romanian Wind" | Hans Zimmer | 1:56 | ||||||
| 7. | "Did You Kill My Wife?" | Hans Zimmer | 2:42 | ||||||
| 8. | "He’s All Me Me Me" | Hans Zimmer | 1:56 | ||||||
| 9. | "The Mycroft Suite" | Hans Zimmer | 1:41 | ||||||
| 10. | "To The Opera!" | Renato Girolami | 4:03 | ||||||
| 11. | "Two Mules For Sister Sara" | Ennio Morricone | 2:34 | ||||||
| 12. | "Die Forelle" | Julius Drake | 3:22 | ||||||
| 13. | "Zu Viele Füchse Für Euch Hänsel" | Hans Zimmer | 1:47 | ||||||
| 14. | "The Red Book" | Hans Zimmer | 4:00 | ||||||
| 15. | "Moral Insanity" | Hans Zimmer | 1:31 | ||||||
| 16. | "Memories Of Sherlock" | Hans Zimmer | 2:11 | ||||||
| 17. | "The End?" | Hans Zimmer | 2:26 | ||||||
| 18. | "Romani Holiday (Antonius Remix)" | Hans Zimmer | 5:38 | ||||||
| 19. | "Shush Club No. 3" (Bonus Track) | Hans Zimmer | 4:31 | ||||||
| 20. | "Beautiful Eyes" (Bonus Track) | Hans Zimmer | 2:13 | ||||||
| 21. | "Just Follow My Lead (The Waltz)" (Bonus Track) | Hans Zimmer | 4:44 | ||||||
Sequel
Warner Bros. has announced that the first draft for Sherlock Holmes 3 is being produced with screenwriter Drew Pearce writing the script.
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