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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

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Sherlock Holmes:
A Game of Shadows
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGuy Ritchie
Written byKieran Mulroney
Michele Mulroney
Produced byJoel Silver
Lionel Wigram
Susan Downey
Dan Lin
StarringRobert Downey, Jr.
Jude Law
Noomi Rapace
Jared Harris
Stephen Fry
Kelly Reilly
Rachel McAdams
CinematographyPhilippe Rousselot
Edited byJames Herbert
Music byHans Zimmer
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • 16 December 2011 (2011-12-16)
Running time
129 minutes[1]
CountriesTemplate:FilmUK
Template:FilmUS
LanguageEnglish
Budget$125 million[2]
Box office$242,910,219 [3]

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]

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 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 bombing 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 and tortures Holmes, while Watson is pinned down behind a large cannon by sniper fire from Moran. Moriarty reveals that he 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 was 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. Watson and Simza search for signs of the assassin while 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 that 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, who is now writing the last few lines from "The Final Problem", receives a package containing a breathing device of Mycroft's that Holmes had noticed before the summit. Realizing that Holmes is still 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

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.[15] 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".[16] 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.[17] 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.[18]

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.[19]

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 will be released on 5 January 2012 in Australia and Spain.[5]

Reception

The film opened on 16 December 2011, with an opening weekend of $40 million.[20]

Critical response

The film received generally mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 60% of 176 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".[21] 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.[22] CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was a "A-minus" on an A+ to F scale.[23]

Roger Ebert 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."[24] 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."[25] 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."[26]

Box office

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows topped the US and Canada box office on its opening day making $14.6 million,[27][28] down from the the opening day gross of the original film ($24.6 million).[29] In the U.K. A Game of Shadows achieved a revenue of £3.83m over a three-day period, compared to the £3.08m in two days of the original film.[30] In a slow weekend of takings, the film grossed $39.6 million in North America, leading the box office but earning much less than the opening weekend of the first film ($62.3 million).[20] The film made $14.7 million overseas.[citation needed]

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.[31][32][33]

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.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."I See Everything"Hans Zimmer0:39
2."That Is My Curse (Shadows – Part 1)"Hans Zimmer1:51
3."Tick Tock (Shadows – Part 2)"Hans Zimmer8:12
4."Chess (Shadows – Part 3)"Hans Zimmer7:34
5."It’s So Overt It’s Covert"Hans Zimmer3:19
6."Romanian Wind"Hans Zimmer1:56
7."Did You Kill My Wife?"Hans Zimmer2:42
8."He’s All Me Me Me"Hans Zimmer1:56
9."The Mycroft Suite"Hans Zimmer1:41
10."To The Opera!"Renato Girolami4:03
11."Two Mules For Sister Sara"Ennio Morricone2:34
12."Die Forelle"Julius Drake3:22
13."Zu Viele Füchse Für Euch Hänsel"Hans Zimmer1:47
14."The Red Book"Hans Zimmer4:00
15."Moral Insanity"Hans Zimmer1:31
16."Memories Of Sherlock"Hans Zimmer2:11
17."The End?"Hans Zimmer2:26
18."Romani Holiday (Antonius Remix)"Hans Zimmer5:38
19."Shush Club No. 3" (Bonus Track)Hans Zimmer4:31
20."Beautiful Eyes" (Bonus Track)Hans Zimmer2:13
21."Just Follow My Lead (The Waltz)" (Bonus Track)Hans Zimmer4:44

Sequel

Warner Bros. has announced that the first draft for Sherlock Holmes 3 is being produced with screenwriter Drew Pearce writing the script.[34]

References

  1. ^ "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  2. ^ Kaufman, Amy; Fritz, Ben (15 December 2011). "Movie Projector: 'Sherlock,' 'Alvin' sequels kick off holiday season". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  3. ^ Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Box Office Mojo.
  4. ^ a b c d Tilly, Chris (22 February 2011). "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Preview". IGN. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d Sciretta, Peter (27 May 2010). "Sherlock Holmes 2 Gets December 2011 Release Date, Rachel McAdams Will Return". /Film. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  6. ^ Melrose, Kevin (23 November 2010). "Noomi Rapace to play Sim the Gypsy in 'Sherlock Holmes 2′". Spin Off Online. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  7. ^ a b c d Ffrench, Andrew (4 November 2010). "Sherlock movie stars steam into Didcot". The Oxford Times. Newsquest. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  8. ^ "Jared Harris discusses 'fun' Sherlock Holmes 2". Total Film. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  9. ^ "Stephen Fry talks Sherlock Holmes 2". Total Film. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  10. ^ a b Bierly, Mandi (4 February 2011). "Rachel McAdams cameo confirmed for 'Sherlock Holmes' sequel". Time Inc. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  11. ^ "Eddie Marsan reprising Sherlock Holmes role". Collider.com. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  12. ^ Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Movie Review - ComingSoon.net
  13. ^ Thompson, Jody (19 October 2010). "Take that, you bounder: Jude Law takes swing at a gypsy in new Sherlock Holmes film (after quick practice on Guy Ritchie)". Daily Mail. UK: Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  14. ^ Leffler, Rebecca (26 November 2010). "Gilles Lellouche Joins 'Sherlock Holmes 2' Cast". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  15. ^ "Guy Ritchie Leaving Lobo, Aiming for Sherlock Holmes 2". /Film. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  16. ^ Ditzian, Eric (9 November 2010). "Rachel McAdams Unsure About Doing 'Sherlock Holmes 2'". MTV. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  17. ^ Thompson, Jody (19 December 2009). "Jude Law takes swing at a gypsy in new Sherlock Holmes film (after quick practice on Guy Ritchie)". Daily Mail. UK: Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  18. ^ Teed, Paul (24 January 2011). "Film crews at Hampton Court Palace 'shooting Sherlock Holmes movie'". Elmbridge Guardian. Newsquest. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  19. ^ "Explosions au coeur de Strasbourg... (Explosions in the heart of Strasbourg ...)". Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace (in French). 4 February 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  20. ^ a b Weekend Report: Disappointing Debuts From 'Sherlock,' 'Alvin' Sequels
  21. ^ "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  22. ^ "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 16 December 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ Kaufman, Amy (22 December 2011). "Movie Projector: 'Mission: Impossible' sequel to rule Christmas". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  24. ^ Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews
  25. ^ Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - Reelviews Movie Reviews
  26. ^ Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows | Film | Movie Review | The A.V. Club
  27. ^ Sherlock Holmes sequel leads US box office
  28. ^ Sherlock Holmes fires an opening salvo from the shadows at the UK box office
  29. ^ Friday Report: 'Sherlock,' 'Alvin' Stumble, 'M:I' Dominant in IMAX
  30. ^ Sherlock Holmes fires an opening salvo from the shadows at the UK box office
  31. ^ "Sherlock: Game of Shadows soundtrack details". Filmonic. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  32. ^ "Sherlock: Game of Shadows soundtrack tracks". Amazon. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  33. ^ "Sherlock Homes: Game of Shadows soundtrack with bonus tracks". Retrieved 11 December 2011. {{cite web}}: Text "publisher: Hans Zimmer Complet Score" ignored (help)
  34. ^ Fleming, Mike (23 October 2011). "Warner Bros Ready For 'Sherlock Holmes 3′". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
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