Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Movie, 2011, The 2010s, Set in Moriarty's war
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is #7 of 18 in release order and #7 of 18 in chronological order in the Guy Ritchie.
The story
There is a new criminal mastermind at large (Professor Moriarty) and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil and lack of conscience may give him an advantage over the detective.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows recap
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) sends Holmes and Watson across Europe in 1891 to stop Professor Moriarty from provoking a war he has invested in. Guy Ritchie's seventh feature is the direct sequel to Sherlock Holmes (2009), with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law back as Holmes and Dr. John Watson. A string of bombings blamed on anarchists is pushing France and Germany toward war, and Holmes ties them to Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris), who poisons Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) early on. Moriarty's men attack Watson and his bride Mary on their honeymoon train, and Holmes throws Mary into a river where his brother Mycroft (Stephen Fry) collects her. With the fortune-teller Simza Heron (Noomi Rapace), whose brother René works for Moriarty, they track a bomb in Paris, an arms factory in Germany and finally a peace summit in Switzerland, while the marksman Sebastian Moran keeps them in his sights.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows ending explained
A Game of Shadows ends at the Reichenbach Falls. Holmes has swapped Moriarty's coded notebook, so Mary breaks the cipher and Lestrade strips Moriarty's fortune for war orphans. Knowing his injured shoulder will lose the fight, Holmes pulls Moriarty over the balcony and both vanish into the falls, as in Doyle's "The Final Problem". After the funeral, Watson receives Mycroft's oxygen device and steps out, and the hidden Holmes adds a question mark after "The End" in Watson's manuscript.
Post-credits scenes
No. A Game of Shadows has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows isn't on a US streaming service right now. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.4/10, Rotten Tomatoes 60%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Sherlock Holmes, before The Man from U.N.C.L.E..
- Chronological order: after Sherlock Holmes, before The Man from U.N.C.L.E..
Cast
- Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes
- Jude Law as Dr. John Watson
- Noomi Rapace as Madam Simza Heron
- Jared Harris as Professor James Moriarty
- Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler
- Eddie Marsan as Inspector Lestrade
- Kelly Reilly as Mary Morstan
- Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes
- Paul Anderson as Colonel Sebastian Moran
- Geraldine James as Mrs. Hudson
- William Houston as Constable Clark
- Wolf Kahler as Doctor Hoffmanstahl
Directed by Guy Ritchie.