Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

PG-13

Released Dec 16, 2011

2h 9m

Action

Adventure

Mystery & Thriller

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60%

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225 Reviews

77%

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100,000+ Ratings

When Austria's crown prince is found dead, evidence seems to point to suicide. However, detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) deduces that the prince was murdered and that the crime is but a piece of a puzzle designed by an evil genius named Moriarty (Jared Harris). Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson (Jude Law), who are accompanied by a Gypsy (Noomi Rapace) whose life Holmes saved, chase Moriarty across Europe in the hope that they can thwart his plot before it can come to fruition.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Unlike the 2009 hit that preceded this one there's very little mystery to be found here, not much in the way of puzzles in need of being solved.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 27, 2012

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Bruce Diones

The New Yorker

It's complete trash and makes a mockery of Holmes's vaunted deductive reasoning.

Jan 16, 2012

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Adam Graham

Detroit News

Downey's career is something of a game of shadows, but it's one still worth playing, for now.

Rated: B-

Dec 16, 2011

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Clint Leavitt

Loud and Clear Reviews

If one can set aside some of the deviations of these modern twists on the classic characters and simply pick up a bowl of popcorn instead, they’ll be pleased with the game that is afoot.

Rated: 3.5/5

Mar 24, 2025

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

When it’s all over, audiences may find the experience superficial and in no way reminiscent of Doyle’s stories, but for just over two hours, we’ve been happily diverted.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 6, 2023

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Unfortunately the uniqueness, humor, and charm of the first film are all but missing in the sequel.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 25, 2022

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Audience Member

Very few times does a sequel surpass its predecessor!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/18/25

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Philswif P

RDJ (Robert Downey Jr.) is a charismatically perfect Sherlock Holmes, Jared Harris is a despicably genius James Moriarty, and the entire ensemble plays the ideal version of each of their characters. From its epic and Bond-esque opening scene to its thrilling chess match turned dramatic brawl climax, A Game of Shadows is certainly worth a couple of watches.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/09/25

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Martin V

Second parts are usually bad or rarely surpass the first part. This is neither. It is a perfect second part that accompanies the first part very well and leaves you longing for a third. Guy Ritchie, Robert Downie Jr, Jude Law. Incredible.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/21/25

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thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas sao fracas, o elenco é mais ou menos, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, a história é fraca, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes para fazer o filme ser bom.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/25

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Tyler S

Thought it was a slight upgrade from the first one. Did a great job at following the same principles, although it did well at sort of standing alone. I feel like you could watch this movie and still understand things without watching the first one. Not saying its a bad thing, but was pretty interesting. Solid watch.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/17/25

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Adam K

Please make more of these. So fun to watch

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/16/25

Full Review

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Guy Ritchie

Director

Robert Downey Jr.

Sherlock Holmes

Jude Law

Dr. John Watson

Noomi Rapace

Madam Simza Heron

Rachel McAdams

Irene Adler

Jared Harris

Professor James Moriarty

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Synopsis

When Austria's crown prince is found dead, evidence seems to point to suicide. However, detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) deduces that the prince was murdered and that the crime is but a piece of a puzzle designed by an evil genius named Moriarty (Jared Harris). Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson (Jude Law), who are accompanied by a Gypsy (Noomi Rapace) whose life Holmes saved, chase Moriarty across Europe in the hope that they can thwart his plot before it can come to fruition.

Director: Guy Ritchie
Producer: Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey, Dan Lin
Screenwriter: Michele Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney, Anthony Peckham
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Silver Pictures, Wigram Productions, Village Roadshow Pictures
Rating: PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Violence|Intense Sequences of Action|Some Drug Material)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 16, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 11, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $186.8M
Runtime: 2h 9m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital

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