Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

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Overview

Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows is the sequel to 2009's Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law reprising their roles as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. Directed by Guy Ritchie the film follows Holmes and Watson as they hunt down Holmes' legendary adversary Professor Moriarty (Played by Jared Harris of Mad Men fame).

Creation

The story of A Game of Shadows is based in part on the 1893 short story "The Final Problem" which introduces Holmes' arch-enemy Professor Moriarty.The story is commonly considered to be among the greatest Sherlock Holmes stories written and even ranked fourth on Arthur Conan Doyle's personal list of the best Sherlock Holmes stories. It is also based on the short story "The Adventure of The Empty House" as well. Both stories are from two different collections (The Final Problem is from Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes and The Adventures of The Empty House is from The Return of Sherlock Holmes) though and were written about ten years apart.

Plot Summary

Holmes with Dr. Watson at the gentleman's club

When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, Inspector Lestrade assumes it's suicide as all the clues point towards that conclusion but Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince was murdered and that his death is part of a far larger and more complex puzzle designed by his archenemy Professor Moriarty. He tracks to the clues to an underground gentleman's club where he and his brother Mycroft are throwing Dr. Watson a bachelor party. There Sherlock meets the mysterious gypsy fortune teller Sim who isn't revealing as much as she knows and as a result is the killer's next target.After he saves her life, Sim agrees to help Holmes find the killer.

The investigation takes them all over Europe from London to France, then to Germany, and finally to Switzerland. But Moriarty is able to remain one step ahead of them leaving clues and death and destruction all over Europe.

Production

After Sherlock Holmes became a worldwide success, Warner Bros. immediately began work on A Game of Shadows causing Guy Ritchie to drop out of his adaptation of the DC Comics character Lobo and causing Robert Downey Jr. to drop out of Cowboys & Aliens. At the time it was unclear if Rachel McAdams would reprise her role as Irene Adler saying "If I do, it won't be a very big thing. It's not a lead part." though on February 4, 2011 Warner Bros confirmed to magazine Entertainment Weekly that McAdams would indeed reprising her role as Irene Adler. It was intended to be a stand alone film so the film was set a year after the first one in for order for those who hadn't seen the first film to understand the second.

Strasbourg Cathedral

Principal Photography began in October 2010 in London where an action scene was staged in Richmond Park. The crew was able to charter the steamship PS Waverly on the English Channel for filming. A green screen was set up in November 2010 at the Didcot Railway Center where an action scene would be staged. Scenes were also filmed at the Victoria Bridge and at the Hampton Court Palace. In September 2011 scenes were also shot at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

In February 2011, filming moved to Strasbourg, France for two days where scenes were shot in and around the Strasbourg Cathedral. The scene filmed there was the opening action scene where an assassination happens in a German speaking town.

Music Score

To score the film Hans Zimmer was chosen as he had previously composed the music for Sherlock Holmes. Composer Lorne Balfe who frequently works with Zimmer also composed tracks for the film. A total of 21 songs were composed with three being extras on the physical copy of the album versus how normally extra tracks are exclusive to the digital copy.

Reception

Reception to the film was mainly mixed unlike it's predecessor where reception was mainly positive. Out of 194 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 60% approval rate from critics with the consensus being" 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. " 117 of the reviews were positive while 77 were negative. Many critics felt the film was tiresome and many such as Peter Travers of Rolling Stone Magazine felt "Richie has wasted Robert Downey Jr in a sequel that eliminates smarts in favor of relentless headbanging". Though noted critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3.5/4 stars saying it was "The thing to do, I suppose, is to 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.". Audiences though for the most part enjoyed the film as it debuted with a $40 Million opening weekend and received and as of December 18,2011 it has a 79% approval rate from audiences out of 90,695 ratings from users.