Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Play trailer

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

PG-13

Released Dec 16, 2011

2h 9m

Action

Adventure

Mystery & Thriller

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

60%

Tomatometer

225 Reviews

77%

Popcornmeter

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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

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

Full Review

Bruce Diones

The New Yorker

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

Jan 16, 2012

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

Read all reviews

Scott P

While not traditional Holmes this is a really fun and exceptionally well made film. Jared Harris IS MORIARTY.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/25/25

Full Review

Audience Member

Very few times does a sequel surpass its predecessor!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/18/25

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

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

Sherlock Holmes

70%

77%

Sherlock Holmes

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Sherlock Holmes

Skyfall

92%

86%

Skyfall

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Skyfall

Quantum of Solace

63%

58%

Quantum of Solace

Watchlist

Spectre

63%

61%

Spectre

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Spectre

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

94%

76%

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

New on Netflix in April 2022

RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Sherlock Holmes Wins the Weekend

View more photos

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

Most Popular at Home Now