Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

by: Ann Marie

The action continues in the second installment of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.  The movie follows where the 2009 Sherlock Holmes left off.  Watson (Jude Law, Contagion) is no longer working with Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man 2), instead he is preparing to get married to his soon to be wife,  Mary Hudson (Kelly Reilly), well that is until Holmes ropes Watson back in for one more adventure.  This time the duo must take on Holmes’ archenemy, Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris, The Ward), whose target is Watson and his wife.  That is until we meet Madam Simza Heron (Noomi Rapace).  From here Holmes learns of Madam Simza’s brother and how he decided to join Moriarty’s team to take down important leaders of Europe.  Watson and Holmes decide to team up with Madam Simza to bring down Moriarty.  From here the quest turns into a dangerous international conspiracy as the trio try to save Europe.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows brought another outstanding cast of actors and actresses. There were many actors and actresses that returned to the big screen including Jude Law, Robert Downey Jr., Rachel McAdams, Geraldine James and Kelly Reilly. But there were also many new faces to the movie: Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris and Stephen Fry. Overall the cast worked brilliantly together to bring the story to life.

Just like 2009’s Sherlock Holmes, Guy Ritchie directed this movie and kept the similar elements in his edited sequences. The film portrayed multiple times when Holmes was processing how to take down an enemy. The camera would slow down and show each precise movement in combat. Then after a brief explanation in each technique, the camera was resume where Holmes was last left off at and shows the movements in real time.  However, Ritchie does add a twist to the second installment when Holmes isn’t the only one who can precisely break down each attack move.

Besides the interesting technique used in certain fight scenes, the film also had establishing shots to help the audience advance in the plot. Overall the editing was clean.

Guy Ritchie returned to direct the second installment of Sherlock Holmes. Besides movies, he has also directed television shows. Currently Ritchie is working on a new film, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., which is set to release sometime in 2012. Also helping with the story line of the movie was Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney both of which are husband and wife. 

Overall this movie was just as good as the first one, but with an added twist in the end. The storyline was easy to follow and it was a fun, thrilling film to watch. Each scene keeps you glued to the screen waiting for the next piece of the storyline to unfold.  I would recommend seeing both movies if you haven’t seen either one because you’re missing out on a great adventure. 

(C) 2012 beyond the films