Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows [DVD + UV Copy] [2012]

fantanstic film keeps you on the edge of your seat

As with the first Sherlock Holmes film, brilliant acting by Robert Downey Jr as the eccentric but highly intelligent Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law, the great Doctor Watson. The same scenery, alive with the activity, filth, violence and squalor of Victorian life and the fights are often punctuated with humour. However, the enemy this time is the genius but evil Professor Moriarty played wonderfully by Jared Harris. Love this film and I don't tire of watching it over again, especially in Blu Ray.

Robert Downey Jr. plays Sherlock Holmes and Jude law plays Dr Watson. Homes pits his wits against the protagonist lots of lighthearted humour great fight scenes and great Storytelling.

As a stuffy Canon purist who despised the first movie for its painfully out of character portrayals and Holmes' utter slovenliness, I can say with honesty that despite my reservations,'A Game of Shadows' not only outshined its predecessor, at its heart was more substance than I ever thought possible for what I'd dismissed as a mindless action flick. Guy Ritchie clearly took pains to correct much of what was broken in his '09 effort, from the little touches to the major issues regarding the disjointed feel to his directing. I was relieved to note that there were improvements made in cleaning up Holmes' intolerable slovenliness - though by no means does he display the "quiet primness of dress" Watson wrote him as having, he is slightly more of a conventionally dressed gentleman here. Slightly. And while RDJ's Holmes is far from the "quiet thinker of Baker Street", here we see performances that become entirely more recognizable.The modernity and steampunk elements have been toned down somewhat, and the fact that two completely different (and talented) writers had scripted this one was glaringly obvious. We have a Holmes whose intelligence has been dulled for the sake of comic relief, I am sad to say, but in this film it is done in a more tolerable - even endearing - manner. I also confess to despising Jude Law's Watson in the first film, for what I thought was an uncalled for level of hostility. Best of all was the fact that the razor edge to his character was blunted in the sequel, and we we are given a Watson who is exasperated, yet lurking underneath was a palpable fondness not present in the first installment. I could believe that underneath it all was a friendship, and that honestly made all the difference in convincing me this was the man who would willingly follow Holmes to the ends of the earth. We are shown the camaraderie and affection between Holmes and Watson that existed in Doyle's stories, and understand how it hurt them both when the doctor marries Mary Morstan. Regardless of how you view their relationship, this did pain Holmes in Canon, and I've never seen that heartbreak rendered so beautifully and respectfully as it was here.I was especially taken with Jared Harris' performance as Professor Moriarity, and the back story surrounding him has quickly become a favourite with me. He was quite convincing as an amoral intellect to rival the foremost mind of his time - when they clash, it is genuinely frightening, and the shivers come not because we think he's some volatile nutter, but because his decided lack of a conscience becomes a true counterweight to Holmes' sense of justice. Holmes of Canon was a flawed man (why we love him, honestly) but he was also a good man. He would have come to the same conclusions about humanity and the coming wars as Moriarity did in this film, but opposed them all the same. He is a worthy opponent, and we feel this throughout.Of course, I had my issues, mainly with the overdone action sequences that I find boring and the scene in the train where Holmes is decked out in drag. But these quibbles are easy to overlook when the movie was such a fresh take on 'The Final Problem', when we were given such a beautiful representation of the love (whether you see it platonic or otherwise) between Holmes and Watson, and that memorable ending scene where all Holmes' logic is cast to the wayside with one selfless act. It was truly gorgeous, and elevated this from being just another action flick to an actual relevant movie pastiche. While it doesn't approach the loyalty as that of the BBC adaptation, it does do ACD's immortal characters justice this time around.

Okay, I for one loved this film, and the 2009 one, I really don't understand the hate for it?I've read all of the Sherlock books and stories and yes, it's not 100% canon, but why is that so bad? As much as we'd love it, filmmakers nowadays simply cannot make a film that is 100% canon but that doesn't mean it should instantly be written off as a bad film that only loosely follows the plot of the books. I've been back to the cinema three times to see this now because I just love it, it has humour, action, adventure all tied up in a perfect Sherlock Holmes mystery, so please, don't listen to the bad reviews, buy this film and enjoy it, because if every fandom posted reviews like this on their films, films based on books just wouldn't be made anymore. You'll love this if you haven't read the books and (if you're not as childish as some of the other reviewers) also if you've read them all. If I could, I would rate this film 100 out of 5, but, you'll just have to take my word for it, this is an amazing, fantastic and perfect adaptation of Sherlock Holmes and it different from a lot of the plotless rubbish being made into films now, buy it and you won't regret it!

Unlike other reviewers who considered this movie a watered down version of the first i disagree.Ritchie has set out in this sequel to expand and develop all the characters and spec effects and take them to another level.In my opinion he has succeeded in all aspects and more....saw this movie on the big screen and absolutely loved it, the story in general sees Holmes locking swords and wits with his intellectual equal and surprisingly convincing Moriarty who unlike the villain from the last episode manages to be a convincing embodiment of evil as well as a genuine intellect with all the understandable neuroses this can create.The effects are taken on a level although could be criticised as very similar to the last offering, however i must confess that the extra humour elements give the whole film a lift i found myself laughing out loud at times which is unusual for me.If you loved the first film you should love this one....if you enjoyed the first film but though it lacked a little something then you will LOVE this one. I'd recommend this to all the family its got something for everyone...a purchase i will be making

Highly entertaining film, really a first class film with first class actors.

You would need to watch both films as thay are follow on films