Movie Review - Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows (2011) -- Directed By Guy Ritchie

Before watching the film, I looked up a few reviews on various websites to see how critics rated the movie. As a general observation, it seemed like the majority of those who were captivated buy the 2009 production were similarly draw in by the 2011 movie with a number of viewers either leaning to one end of the scale or the other.

Directed by Guy Ritchie, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, starring Robert Downey Jr as the investigative Detective Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as his right hand man and companion Doctor Watson, centres around the apprehension and mysteries surrounding Professor Moriarty - Holmes' adversary. The movie is directed and produced in a similar fashion to the 2009 movie, with Holmes being able to once again sniff out the true villain through his disguises and determination.

Unlike the 2009 production however, A Game Of Shadows includes Professor Moriarty, a cunning, witty and utmost fierce adversary out to cause death and destruction in his quest to take down Holmes in his pursuits while also looking to cause chaos and destruction throughout Europe. The movie includes elements of suspense, humour, action and treachery all in one.

If you're looking for a movie with action and a creative story line, this movie is for you. Although it doesn't explore the investigative techniques and character of Holmes so much as the novels do, the movie incorporates action scenes and humour not witnessed in the short stories and novels by Doyle. The movie production lives up to the expectations of creating the suspense, mystery and intrigue as would be expected from a Sherlock Holmes story, more so with inclusion of the mischievous, deceptive, treacherous and cunning Moriarty.

Throughout the movie, Holmes doesn't fail to disappoint in being one step ahead of his adversary while surprising his counter part, Doctor Watson, in his adventures to track down and apprehend the criminal at hand. Similar to the novels and short stories, Holmes is once again more intrigued by the methods and thoughts of his adversary than he is in necessarily looking for justice, that is, to put the criminal behind bars.

Overall, I found the both the movie production and story to be fascinating, intriguing and definitely worth watching. For those of you who may prefer the older Sherlock Holmes film productions, I'd still recommend you watch this for the story and intrigue as Detective Sherlock Holmes attempts to uncover the mysteries behind the intentions of Professor Moriarty and his intentions to cause chaos among Europe.

I'd rate the movie as being 8/10. The only downside for me was that it didn't include the same sense of mystery and investigation as would otherwise be achieved by Detective Holmes in the novels and short stories. I would have also preferred to see more of an active role by Doctor Watson in pursuing Professor Moriarty.