Sherlock Holmes A Game Of Shadows: Let’s firstly start off with showing y’all the trailers shall we?

Yayyyyy, finally time to review this sequel to the beloved first film, btw from what I’ve heard this won’t be the end of this Robert Downy Jr Sherlock Holmes film. I hear they are working on a 3rd film, although it’s now been 13 years since the last film..

According to them when the time is right they will make the 3rd film, yeah whenever that will be. Again it’s been 13 years, I do hope we get a third film. Anyway, let’s get the rating out of the way so we can get into spoilers.

Overall I absolutely love this film, however, I do have one glaring issue. The issue is the way Professor Moriarty, to be more specific I have an issue with the writing. Because I love that this film for the first time brings the iconic villains Moriarty and Sebastian Moran to the big screen.

In my opinion, I prefer this version of Moriarty over that Sherlock TV show version, that version came off as a typical Sunday morning villain who’s cartoonishly Goofy to the point it’s hard to take him seriously.

Here let me show u a clip from his first appearance in the Sherlock show, try telling me u can take this acting as seriously.

Plz tell me how u can take the TV show version of Moriarty seriously, I could never take this TV show Moriarty seriously.

I mean seriously the TV show version just acts too Goofy as if he has ADHD, he makes weird faces and acts like a child with ADHD. This version comes off as roo comical, like at no point did I find him intimidating or threatening.

Thought he was supposed to be a sociopath? Don’t sociopaths have no emotions? Yet here in this show, he is expressing emotions.

This movie version of Moriarty is a lot more serious in my opinion, maybe I’m biased because Jared Harris is playing him. But still. Heck, the film portrays him as a.

A professor. He’s a highly respected/extremely smart professor, a cunning individual, a sociopath, he’s also rich. Oh, and he’s a full-blown narcissist, who has a sadistic side. Oh, and he’s a psychopath.

See another major difference between the show version to this movie’s version is that Moriarty in the Sherlock show only does the things he does because he’s bored. All the while Moriarty in this film does his crimes for power and money.

Now after hearing that comparison plz tell me which version of Moriarty sounds more intimidating and accurate?

I also love the casting. We got, as I just stated.

Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty

Paul Anderson as Sebastian Moran

BTW a lot of people don’t seem to point this out. So I will, it’s clever the direction they went with here for Moriarty and Sebastian Moran. They essentially gave Moriarty his own Watson.

Both Sebastian and Watson are similar, they both were in wars and had similar experiences. It’s just that Sebastian Moran is a Psychopath and Moriarty is the evil version of Sherlock Holmes.

I like that dynamic between both sides.

But where this film fails at the character of Moriarty has to do with the writing, for most of the film he’s portrayed accurately….as a cold, ruthless, calculated manipulator. But by the end of the film he loses because of something stupid he does.

Do y’all want to know right now in non-spoilers what is this supposedly stupid thing Moriarty does? Fine I’ll explain it now, so throughout this entire film (get this) he writes down in a small bright red not book that he carries around with him in his coat pocket, all about information such as,

The coding to his secret evil plans.

His code to his bank money.

Info about his entire business.

Basically, he writes down every piece of info that would be a robber’s wet dream. Jeepers, the world’s smartest villain? The guy is writing down info about his evil plans, his bank account, and his personal business down in a book he carries around with him. It’s almost like he is asking to get robbed.

On a side note if I was an evil mastermind, who tries to portray himself as a good guy to everyone else. Also, all the while running a college to teach kids because I’m just that smart, I would not be writing down in a notebook that I carry with me, all about my evil deeds. If u get caught and the cops take that out of ur pocket.

If the jig were up at that point, u would be in prison. Unfortunately, though this film takes place in the late 1900s, so I don’t think the cop system was as “good” as it is today.

Anyway let’s get the rating out of the way so we can dive into this film, overall I absolutely love this film. Except for that 1 issue I have but besides that. Also, we got a stellar cast, we got,

Robert Downey Jr.
Sherlock Holmes

Jude Law
Dr. John Watson

Noomi Rapace
Madam Simza Heron

Rachel McAdams
Irene Adler

Jared Harris
Professor James Moriarty

Stephen Fry
Mycroft Holmes

Paul Anderson
Colonel Sebastian Moran

Kelly Reilly
Mary Watson

Geraldine James
Mrs. Hudson

Eddie Marsan
Inspector Lestrade

So overall I’ll give this film a solid 8/10, warning spoilers ahead y’all been warned.

In this film Sherlock Holmes is back and so is Watson, but we start off with him following Irene Adler, who’s meeting an old guy named Dr. Hoffmanstahl at a church. Where a funeral is happening.

Sherlock makes it there in time because Irene hands the guy a box which he opens but turns out to have a bomb inside, also he hands her a package, so Sherlock appears behind them and grabs the box to get rid of it. He says to Irene don’t show up late to dinner, how cute? Sherlock steals the package from Irene as well.

He then sets a diversion to get everyone out by uh having a candle fall on a curtain and setting it on fire, he then places the bomb into the coffin and he leaves as it explodes.

When Sherlock makes his way out he notices Dr. Hoffmanstahl slunched over at a wall dead, then he sees a glimpse of this guy named Sebastian Moran.

The plot thickens, so Irene meets Moriarty at an open place at a restaurant during tea time. Where Moriarty is sitting behind a curtain, he asks if she has the package which she says Sherlock stole it, he says such a shame. She says if u told me what ur plans were instead of keeping me in the dark.

Moriarty says oh so now u want to know my plans do u? Is this why u had me meet u here? In the open at ur favorite tea place? Just then Sebastian Moran taps his tea cup a couple of times with a spoon and everyone gets up and leaves.

Ohhh this place isn’t as safe as she thinks, Moriarty reveals himself to her (he’s played this time by Jared Harris, he wasn’t in the first film).

Also, we get this epic eerie music that accompanies this scene, it’s Moriarty’s theme.

He tells her he knew for a while that she fell in love with Sherlock, but now what to do with her. He will no longer be requiring her.

Uh oh, as she walks away she then falls on the ground dead. Uh oh, so unfortunately for Sherlock she doesn’t show up for dinner.

There’s the full clip btw. His introduction in this film is the best in my opinion.

Anyways Watson is soon no longer gonna work for Sherlock because he’s getting married to Mary. Btw she hates Sherlock Holmes (let’s be honest who wouldn’t).

BTW let me give u a slight idea why no one likes Sherlock, the guy does tests on Watson’s dog. He comes into Sherlock’s home which is a mess. Watson’s dog comes in Groaning then falls onto the ground, he’s dying because he ate poison.

Yep, Sherlock killed a dog to do a test, why? So he can test this new invention he made which is this needle that boosts adrenaline into u to save u. So he does that to the dog, then hands Watson one and says consider this my Batchelor gift.

Oh yes such a wonderful friend he is, also Sherlock takes Watson out for a Bachelorette which he didn’t plan btw. Watson asks him to call his friends to come but Sherlock either forgets to or doesn’t want to, so while Watson goes and does some gambling and drinking.

Sherlock enters a fortune teller’s room, whose name is Madam Simza Heron, he ends up reading her fortune and he can tell she’s here on a business trip to find someone important.

He also concludes her next patient is here to kill her, so he saves her by fighting off the guy who has a sword.

So after the wedding happens. As Sherlock is about to leave, Sebastian Moran appears against his car and tells him I’ve been here for weddings, and funerals too. The professor wants to meet u. Here’s that full clip, including thr scene of him going to thr college.

So Sherlock goes to meet the professor at his college, right as he’s wrapping up a session with some people.

Anyways Sherlock asks him to sign his book he got of Moriarty, also Moriarty tells Sherlock he has the most respect for Sherlock, hence why he’s still alive. Dunn dunn dun, he then tells him that he did kill Irene, well he didn’t say those words. He said the woman had an overdose of a specific poison.

She succumbed to the symptoms pretty fast, and then he sat down next to a chess table and said now do u want to play this game? Sherlock says I think u will lose, Moriarty tells him to tell Watson I send my regards.

I wonder what that would be? Well glad y’all asked because the next scene is of Watson and Mary on their honeymoon on a train, Moriarty sends his men to try to assassinate them, so Sherlock sneaks on board dressed as a woman..

Which even Sherlock says I agree this isn’t my best disguise. I had to make due, so let me summarize up a couple of things.

• Sherlock shoves Mary off the train into the river where his brother Microft comes and saves her.

• Sherlock set up this elaborate plan to cause the assassin’s minigun to backfire on them and explode in their faces.

Also, Sherlock and Watson climb on the side of the railing on the outside of the train to make it to the next carriage to this epic music.

Watson is kicking Sherlock he’s mad at him thinking he sent these men after them, Sherlock says they aren’t after me they are after u!

Anyway here’s the entire train scene.

• they head onto a boat to get to Paris where the forest they are going to is at, on the boat we do have an emotional scene that made me tear up.

Watson notices in Sherlock’s bag a blood-stained handkerchief, he asks him what’s this? Sherlock grabs it and walks to the railing of the boat. Sniffs it then tosses it overboard, ugh that’s painful.

• they both head to the forest after this scene to meet with some gypsies where Madam Simza Heron is hanging out at, she tells them she’s here searching for her brother who’s gone missing, who she hasn’t seen in a while.

She hands Sherlock a note her brother left, it also has a drawing of a lighthouse, it has a stain on it. Turns out the stane is wine, so they head to a whine cellar where they have to go in with no guns, no guns allowed. There they meet someone Madam Simza Heron knows but she’s not happy to meet.

This guy that her brother knows, this guy named Claude, they ask if he’s seen her brother Rene. Which he says he hasn’t seen in a while. That Rene was sent on a different mission

BTW in this scene, we get to learn how much of a monster Moriarty is, he says I made a deal with the devil. And tonight my job will be done, Madam Simza says poz let these men help u. Claude says I wish they could, u see gentlemen he has my wife and children (he being Moriarty) (also jeepers).

Sherlock says if u tell me where to go detonate the bombs I can find a way to save ur family.

Claude ends on this final piece of dialog and it is haunting “It’s already taken care of (takes a sip of wine), we have a deal. He and I, no loose ends. There’s only one thing I can do to keep my family safe (pull out a handgun) u have less than 10 minutes”.

Then he shoots himself in the head.

Dunnn dunn dunnn. So they make their way to the opera because that’s where Sherlock thinks the first bomb is located.

But turns out mope because Moriarty is there enjoying the opera, now why would he place a bomb somewhere he’s at? Hmmmmm.

Turns out the bomb was at a hotel a couple of streets away, in a cake that was being sent out to the dinner table. Also, guess what else they find a bullet hole in the room.

Turns out Sebastian Moran used a sniper across the building to kill the attended person but the explosion happened as a way to make the guy’s death look like an accident.

That’s one elaborated way to get that done, so the trio heads out on horseback (which we find out Sherlock doesn’t trust horses, so they put him on a pony. Well that’s just sad for both him and the pony) to Germany where one of Moriarty’s business is located at.

Pray tell me what is this building. Well glad y’all asked, this building is an industrial building where his men build weapons such as bombs, nukes, guns, and tanks for wars.

Yep if u haven’t figured it out already Moriarty plans to own the bullets, the weapons, and the bandages. War is inevitable and he’s just gonna let each country kill themselves off, while he sits back with the money.

But he didn’t get here in his criminal career because he’s rich, no he got to where he is because of the awful things he’s done. For u see just to add to how much of a monster Moriarty is, he’s had his right-hand man kill specific people for him but always made it look like an accident.

So no suspicion is aimed at him, but worse if someone he was working with or someone who stepped out of line. Or better yet just to prove he was serious, he’d kidnapped their family and threatened to kill them unless the said person didn’t cooperate. Jeepers (I did touch upon this earlier btw).

Also, there’s another part to this building but I’ll save that for a bit later, for now, the group splits up, Watson explores outside while Sherlock explores inside. And Madam Simza waits outside the fence with her men.

Sherlock bumps into a room filled with crates or guns and a room with tanks, bombs and etc. Just then Moran pops into the room and is nice enough to give Sherlock one of the new guns to use for a chance against him in a gun battle.

But Moran gets the upper hand and aims a gun at Sherlock’s head, just then 2 twins come out and knock him out.

Anyway, we are about to get to a bit of a rough scene, Sherlock wakes up in a dentist’s room where Moriarty is standing in front of a vinyl player, he asks him who did he sent the telegraph out to, so that can reveal his secret agendas and end him?

Sherlock doesn’t answer so Moriarty has his men come up and stab a meathook into Sherlock’s shoulder then he pushes him around to the tune of some vinyl music that he’s singing, yikes that looks like it hurts.

Anyways Sebastian gets onto the lighthouse and tries to shoot at Watson but Watson gets into this turret which he uses to shoot down the tower which crashes into the building Sherlock is being tortured in so he saves Sherlock.

I just like Sebastian Morans response to seeing Watson get into the turret, all the while Moran is camping out on the tower sniping at Watson, this is what Moran has to say “what are u playing at? (See turret) that’s not fair”

Oh that’s rich coming from the guy camping out on a tower trying to snipe Watson.

Anyways they head out and they run through the woods while being chased by Germans, also they are being shot at.

We see the trees exploding from the impact, we see wood flying everywhere. Also then they use one of their turrets they call Hansel and Gretal, which is this turret that shoots out an explosion.

Yeah, our main characters barely make it out, but they escape on a train where Sherlock Circums to his wounds and dies. Yep, he dies ughhhh. But as Watson is trying to revive him. He remembers the gift Sherlock gave him so he injects him with that.

So now the thief act has started, they get invited to this party of rich people in Switzerland. They are to attend it because Moriarty is set to be there, including some of the ambassadors.

Turns out maybe Rene is there because turns out he was hired to take out the ambassador. Also yes I know this review is getting long but I have tons to say.

Anyways they get there, Sherlock asks Madam Simza to dance with him, she has never danced before but he says just follow what I do.

Reason he does this is so he can get up to her and tell him what he has planned, he also looks around and notices things happening. Specific things.

Just then he goes over to Watson and gives out his hand for an offer to dance, which Watson says sarcastically “thought you’d never ask” lololo got to love Watson.

Anyways Sherlock asks Watson’s medical opinion, and he looks over at some guys with a scar across their faces. At first, Watson thinks they had trauma and some major injuries, but then he realizes wait Dr. Hoffmanstahl. Turns out he was at the forefront of medical innovation.

Turns out he’s a surgical Dr. Oh but it gets worse, Watson realizes the twins that they saw at Moriarty’s industrial building in Germany were not twins. Sherlock says he had suspicions….to be fair his suspicions were correct, what convinced him that they weren’t twins is while they escaped that place and Watson shoots one of them. The other one didn’t go and try to save the other.

Also, Sherlock noticed their skin pulled back into a scar behind the ear when he was being knocked out by them with a chloroformed towel. So Dr. Hoffmanstahl’s position was to see if he could make someone look like someone else, yeah so uh Rene doesn’t look like himself anymore.

He has a new face, someone that’s here tonight is him and they better figure out which is Rene. Otherwise, things are gonna get messy.

As in If he succeeds at killing his target, he might start another world war, what no better way to do that than to be wearing the face of someone else? Mainly to frame the guy.

Btw here’s the full clip.

On a side note, Moriarty is a freaking mob boss in this film. I mean try telling me otherwise? I mean think about it, the guy sent Irene to give Dr. Hoffmanstahl a bomb so he could blow up and die, but when that failed he had Sebastian Moran kill him with a poisonous dart.

The guy worked for Moriarty but he decided yeah ur not useful anymore. Yeah, try telling me he’s not a mob boss, without telling me he’s a mob boss.

So Sherlock goes and hands a waiter a note, which he hands to Moriarty who tells him to meet Sherlock outside for their game of chess he has just set up for both of them to play.

In this cold snowy weather, while that happens, and as they both sit down to play the game. Watson and Madam Simza are standing together trying to figure out which is Rene. He tells her she needs to be certain because if he tackles the wrong guy, he could accidentally start another war.

Yeah, we don’t need that. Anyway, she pinpoints which guy is her brother, so Watson does a distraction by knocking over a waiter’s tray. Just then everyone reacts except that guy they suspect.

He walks off and takes a handgun out, Madam Simza goes up to him and tries to stop him. He says forgive me, sister, he then tries to aim the gun at the ambassador and kill him. But the guards come in and knock him to the ground and drag him away. All the while Rene is screaming “Germany will pay! Mark my words!”

As he’s being dragged away and Watson is hugging Madam Simza, Sherlock and Moriarty are playing chess. And there’s some clever dialog such as, Sherlock saying “that doesn’t boat well does it?” Or Moriarty saying “seems ur bishop was to some benefit, after all” Sherlock then says “the game is still young” which Moriarty says “actually it’s in it’s adolescence”

I actually like the symbolism in this film, the director decided to show Sherlock’s and Moriarty’s cat and mouse type of storytelling in the form of a chess game, this entire scene of Watson and Madam Simza trying to find Rene as a last ditch effort to use him to testify against Moriarty (all the while the floor of the ballroom resembling a chess board).

Is representing Sherlock making his move on the board, Sebastian Moran stepping in (which I’m about to get to) is representative of Moriarty doing his move on the chess board. Heck throughout this film each characters move they make is supposed to represent them making there chess move.

I mean remember that scene I told u earlier where they go to the opera thinking there’s a bomb there? Well when they got there they snuck under the stage ans peeped through a hole where they see a chess piece, and in the distance Moriarty starring at them.

To me this was a perfect way to represent the classic cat and mouse chase then having this be a generic cat and mouse chase.

Anyways back to what i was saying, just then while Rene is being dragged off we see Sebastian Moran standing there next to the door with a cane as he lifts the can up and shoots a poisonous dart into the guy’s leg. Now how did no one notice this man lift his can up to shoot at a dart at the guy is beyond me.

Watson hears some screaming then he realizes something and says “No loose ends” uh oh, he then runs out to the hallway to see what’s happening, the guards are surprised, he tells them he’s a doctor! He goes and examines Rene who’s on the floor having a seizure.

He then notices a dart in his knee, he takes a sample on his finger and licks it. As Madam Simza comes running over asking what happened? Watson spits out the poison and deducts it’s this poison called Curare.

This poison is insta death if it hits the bloodstream so Rene is screwed…she asks him to do something! Watson gets up and notices Moran walk away (btw no they don’t catch him, he just escapes).

And yes Rene does die in his sister’s arms, damn that’s a devastating ending. Here’s the full clip.

So anyway Moriarty says “I think u just lost ur most valuable piece” Then they do end the chess game but before so Moriarty says do u find it funny that the telegram u sent out didn’t inspire any action to stop me. War on an industrial scale is inevitable, I just want to own the bullets and bandages, all I have to do is wait”

“I like Switzerland, they respect a man’s privacy here. Especially if said man has a fortune” As he walks away Sherlock says about that fortune of yours I think it’s been substantially reduced. Ohhhhhhh, so they continue playing chess games verbally.

Sherlock points out he noticed this bright red book that Moriarty keeps on him, he’s been following him around, he attended his lectures and all that. He tries to obtain the book but that is hard, luckily he pitpockets Moriarty while Moriarty is close to Sherlock while he is on the floor in that torture scene, where Sherlock says he sent the telegraph to his brother.

Yep, that’s right folks this is how Moriarty loses, he idioticly writes down his entire bank account, his evil plans, and business in this red notebook he carries around with him!

Moriarty pulls out his book but it’s not his it’s a replacement Sherlock put in his pocket. He says nevermind it’s safe in London where my colleagues are cracking the code (his colleague being Mary Watson).

He then says the most formidable criminal mind In Europe just had all his money stolen from perhaps the most inept Inspector (yes he just called Inspector Lestrade inept), well that’s hurtful.

Anyway, Moriarty opens the book and flips the pages where he sees this animated shark eat a fisherman, and this quote pops up saying “Be careful what u fish for” Oh haha haha.

This right here folks, this entire contrived way Moriarty loses to Sherlock is the thing I hated the most, like seriously was this really the best way Guy Ritchie could think of for Sherlock to defeat Moriarty?

Basically Sherlock won on a technicality because Moriarty was stupid enough to carry around his personal info about his evil plans and his bank account, SMH.

Anyway so Sherlock asks Moriarty if he’d light his smoke pipe for him, Moriarty says it’ll be my pleasure. After our conversation, I thought it best to let u know I will find every miserable way possible to torture both the Dr. And his wife, jeepers what a monster.

So both Sherlock and Moriarty have a mental fight where they both imagine ways to take out each other, btw This made the entire theatre gasp. We see Sherlock talking in his head and visual imaging how to take out Moriarty in slow motion, then we hear Moriarty in his head say “Come now, u don’t think ur the only one who can play this game?” Ohhhhhhhhh!

So after a bit of slow-motion fighting each other in their minds, it ends with Moriarty hitting Sherlock’s injured arm, then shoving him onto the ledge and saying “U and I both know how this ends” Then he shoves Sherlock off the edge.

We cut back to them standing there and Sherlock says “Conclusion, inevitable. Unless” Then he blows the smoke into Moriarty’s face and grabs him by the neck.

Just then Watson comes outside and Sherlock looks at Watson then he closes his eyes and tosses both himself and Moriarty off the ledge (gaspsss).

So yeah we see in slow motion Sherlock and Moriarty falling down in front of the waterfall all the while Moriarty is screaming in Sherlock’s face.

See there was only ever one way out of this, and it had to end with Moriarty being killed off. But unfortunately, any way he thought to take out Moriarty would lead to Sherlock getting killed off instead, so he thought best ehhhh fuck it let me take both us out…if I going down, he’s also gonna go down with me.

Also if y’all are wondering why is it Moriarty was able to be taken out so easily? It’s because he could never invision Sherlock sacrificing himself by throwing them both off the ledge, a sociopath doesn’t have that capability. Let alone a sociopath with a huge ego.

One thing is for certain y’all can’t deny after watching this film or reading this review, that James Moriarty in this film is downright terrifying.

I mean think about it, he wanted to create a global-scale war just so he could make a profit off of it by selling weapons, and all that. And what exactly was his motivation for all this? Easy money and power, are 2 dangerous things in reality that have corrupted tons of insane people before.

Oh also he’s just a Psychopath, he wants to see the world burn, go quote Alfred from The Dark Knight “Some men just want to see the world burn”. Also, he won’t stop at anything to accomplish his end goals, even if that means kidding people’s families to force them to work for him.

Oh and keep up his facade of him being a highly respected professor who teaches kids at a college, he goes out of his way to keep his monstrous side unknown to the public who appreciate him, yeah a monster with money, power, and highly respected? Yeah, that’s s mixture of things together that can only lead to destruction.

Oh also he quotes on quote hired people to do assassinations for him, he’d have them come to his Germany industrial building and they’d walk out with a different person’s face.

It’s like Moriarty in this film is a mix of Dr. Frankenstein mixed with a mafia boss mixed with a college professor mixed with Sherlock Holmes. That’s this film’s Moriarty in a nutshell, he is basically an evil version of Sherlock if Sherlock had no one to keep his ego and narcissistic side in check.

Anyway his friends do a funeral for him but they never were able to locate the bodies, well u know what that means if the bodies could never be found, it probably means they are still alive.

Anyway film ends with Watson writing down his adventures, and then Mary brings in a package for him. He got a package from a mailman, turns out that package is of Mycroft’s weird breathing aspirator. Watson walks off to ask Mary eas the mailman is usual or did he looks peculiar?

We then see a fully dressed up spandex-wearing Sherlock Holmes pops up from the chair, his spandex matches the same color as the chair. Including the mask he’s wearing, as the dog is about to bark. Sherlock gives him the hush signal, then he goes over to the typewriter where he sees Watson wrote down “The End” so Sherlock types a question mark right after The End.

Anyway here are the end credits, as in the previous film it is catchy.

Anyway I hope y’all enjoyed this review. Anyways here’s a tease for the next review I’m worming on, it’s another Guy Ritchie film.

Till next time.