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Didn't realise this had its own page when I added it
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* MythologyGag: Holmes deducing that Moran is a British veteran of the Afghanistan conflict because he smokes a brand of Afghan tobacco popular with British soldiers. In the original books, Holmes boasts several times that he can identify a cigarette's country of origin by the consistency of the ash it creates, and claims to have written several articles on the subject.
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* TheBigBoard: Holmes has one (resembling a RoomFullOfCrazy) that uses red string in an attempt to draw connections between Moriarty's criminals acts. Later Holmes comes across a neater version in the Heilbronn arms factory showing [[WorldWarOne what Moriarty is actually planning]].
to:
* TheBigBoard: Holmes has one (resembling a RoomFullOfCrazy) that uses red string in an attempt to draw connections between Moriarty's criminals acts. Later Holmes comes across a neater version in the Heilbronn arms factory showing [[WorldWarOne [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI what Moriarty is actually planning]].
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Has nothing to do with familiarity with in-universe fiction.
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* GenreBlindness: Irene, [[spoiler:despite knowing very well that Moriarty doesn't like to leave loose ends, still works for him and knows that he'd kill her the moment he let her go. The point where this comes in is that while she's GenreSavvy enough to ask for a different pot of tea when she sees one setting at the table, she doesn't think twice about the '''second''' pot. Or simply not drinking tea. Or eating anything at the table.]]
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* GenreBlindness: Irene, [[spoiler:despite knowing very well that Moriarty doesn't like to leave loose ends, still works for him and knows that he'd kill her the moment he let her go. The point where this comes in is that while she's GenreSavvy savvy enough to ask for a different pot of tea when she sees one setting at the table, she doesn't think twice about the '''second''' pot. Or simply not drinking tea. Or eating anything at the table.]]
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** Moriarty fools Holmes into thinking that an assassination target will be in the Paris opera house because of a secret passage connecting it to the headquarters of a known anarchist group who were in Moriarty's power. In reality, the opera is a misdirection and the real target is a nearby hotel.
** For most of the film, Holmes is running around trying to foil Moriarty's assassination plots with limited success. Moriarty tells him in the end it will do no good because he has already won by owning all the capital which will be used to fuel an inevitable world war and make him rich. Holmes reveals that he already accomplished his real goal of securing the code book Moriarty used to keep track of all his assets and thus confiscate them. He also had the much simpler plan of killing Moriarty to take him out of the picture after bankrupting him because the law couldn't touch him.
** For most of the film, Holmes is running around trying to foil Moriarty's assassination plots with limited success. Moriarty tells him in the end it will do no good because he has already won by owning all the capital which will be used to fuel an inevitable world war and make him rich. Holmes reveals that he already accomplished his real goal of securing the code book Moriarty used to keep track of all his assets and thus confiscate them. He also had the much simpler plan of killing Moriarty to take him out of the picture after bankrupting him because the law couldn't touch him.
to:
** Moriarty fools Holmes into thinking that an assassination target will be in the Paris opera house because of a secret passage connecting it to the headquarters of a known anarchist group who were in Moriarty's power. In [[spoiler:In reality, the opera is a misdirection and the real target is a nearby hotel.
hotel.]]
** For most of the film, Holmes is running around trying to foil Moriarty's assassination plots with limited success.Moriarty [[spoiler:Moriarty tells him in the end it will do no good because he has already won by owning all the capital which will be used to fuel an inevitable world war and make him rich. Holmes reveals that he already accomplished his real goal of securing the code book Moriarty used to keep track of all his assets and thus confiscate them. He also had the much simpler plan of killing Moriarty to take him out of the picture after bankrupting him because the law couldn't touch him.]]
** For most of the film, Holmes is running around trying to foil Moriarty's assassination plots with limited success.
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* ScryVsScry: Holmes's usual BulletTime battle analysis monologue is interrupted by Moriarty, who is ''also'' capable of this and counters his moves to the point of proving Holmes couldn't win a straight fight. Of course, [[spoiler:Holmes doesn't fight fair. He fights ''smart.'']]
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* ScryVsScry: Holmes's [[spoiler:Holmes's usual BulletTime battle analysis monologue is interrupted by Moriarty, who is ''also'' capable of this and counters his moves to the point of proving Holmes couldn't win a straight fight. Of course, [[spoiler:Holmes Holmes doesn't fight fair. He fights ''smart.'']]
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* WhamLine: Just before their final confrontation, Holmes starts in with his usual analysis, imagining how the imminent fistfight with Moriarty will go with an internal monologue. At first it looks like Holmes has predicted a method of beating Moriarty before we cut to the man himself and we hear ''his'' internal monologue that reveals he is just as capable of the technique as Sherlock is.
-->'''Moriarty''': ''Come now, did you really think you were the only one capable of playing this game?''
** Immediately, Moriarty begins to gain the upper hand in the imagined conversation between the two men as the fight plays out in both their heads.
** Doubles as a nod to the fact that just then, Moriaty uses a Bartitsu move to reach Holmes's wound, demonstrating he also knows his"game".
-->'''Moriarty''': ''Come now, did you really think you were the only one capable of playing this game?''
** Immediately, Moriarty begins to gain the upper hand in the imagined conversation between the two men as the fight plays out in both their heads.
** Doubles as a nod to the fact that just then, Moriaty uses a Bartitsu move to reach Holmes's wound, demonstrating he also knows his"game".
to:
* WhamLine: Just [[spoiler:Just before their final confrontation, Holmes starts in with his usual analysis, imagining how the imminent fistfight with Moriarty will go with an internal monologue. At first it looks like Holmes has predicted a method of beating Moriarty before we cut to the man himself and we hear ''his'' internal monologue that reveals he is just as capable of the technique as Sherlock is.
is.]]
-->'''Moriarty''':''Come [[spoiler:''Come now, did you really think you were the only one capable of playing this game?''
game?'']]
** Immediately,Moriarty [[spoiler:Moriarty begins to gain the upper hand in the imagined conversation between the two men as the fight plays out in both their heads.
** Doubles as a nod to the fact that just then, Moriatyheads. He even uses a Bartitsu move to reach Holmes's wound, demonstrating he also knows his"game".his "game".]]
-->'''Moriarty''':
** Immediately,
** Doubles as a nod to the fact that just then, Moriaty
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* MythologyGag: Holmes deducing that Moran is a British veteran of the Afghanistan conflict because he smokes a brand of Afghan tobacco popular with British soldiers. In the original books, Holmes boasts several times that he can identify a cigarette's country of origin by the consistency of the ash it creates, and claims to have written several articles on the subject.
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Deleted line(s) 67 (click to see context) :
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: "Little Hansel." The German name Hansel means "Little Hans," so literally the gun is called "Little Little Hans."
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* MadeOfIron: Sebastian Moran. [[spoiler: Despite being shot in the side and ''having a building dropped on him'' he walks away just fine.]]
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* AvoidingTheGreatWar: Moriarty tries to start a world war so that he could supply weapons. He mentions that, even if he's stopped, the world will still find a way.
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* AvoidingTheGreatWar: Moriarty tries to start a world war so that he could supply weapons. He mentions that, even if he's stopped, the world will still find a way. We all know history went, so he's right.
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''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'' is a 2011 British-American action mystery film directed by Creator/GuyRitchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. It is a sequel to the 2009 film ''Film/SherlockHolmes'', and likewise features the Franchise/SherlockHolmes and Dr. John Watson characters created by Sir Creator/ArthurConanDoyle. The screenplay was written by Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney. Creator/RobertDowneyJr and Creator/JudeLaw reprise their roles as Holmes and Watson and were joined by Creator/NoomiRapace as Simza, Creator/StephenFry as Mycroft Holmes and Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty.
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''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'' is a 2011 British-American action mystery film directed by Creator/GuyRitchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. It is a sequel to the 2009 film ''Film/SherlockHolmes'', ''Film/{{Sherlock Holmes|2009}}'', and likewise features the Franchise/SherlockHolmes and Dr. John Watson characters created by Sir Creator/ArthurConanDoyle. The screenplay was written by Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney. Creator/RobertDowneyJr and Creator/JudeLaw reprise their roles as Holmes and Watson and were joined by Creator/NoomiRapace as Simza, Creator/StephenFry as Mycroft Holmes and Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty.
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* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: In contrast to the ObviouslyEvil Lord Blackwood, who went out of his way to make himself TheDreaded and planned to openly topple parliament and declare himself ruler of the empire, Moriarty prefers the VillainWithGoodPublicity strategy, keeping his ties to criminal activity as discrete as possible and subtly manipulating events in his favor.
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No sub-bullet tropes. Relevant examples should go under the respective folders on the character page.
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* FiveBadBand:
** BigBad: Professor Moriarty
** TheDragon: [[ColdSniper Colonel Sebastian Moran]], Moriarty's right hand man and [[VillainousFriendship best friend.]]
** TheEvilGenius: [[HerrDoktor Dr. Hoffmanstahl,]] a plastic surgeon who makes disguises for Moriarty's assassins. [[spoiler: Like many others, killed when he is no longer of use to the BigBad.]]
** TheBrute: The Cossack, a silent and brutal assassin for hire who is able to keep up with Holmes ''and'' Simza.
** TheDarkChick: The Twins, a pair of men who are an early experiment for Hoffmanstahl and function as Moran's subordinates.
** TheSixthRanger: [[spoiler: Rene Heron, who is the last to be revealed and recruited specially for the assassination of the German ambassador at the peace summit in Switzerland.]]
** BigBad: Professor Moriarty
** TheDragon: [[ColdSniper Colonel Sebastian Moran]], Moriarty's right hand man and [[VillainousFriendship best friend.]]
** TheEvilGenius: [[HerrDoktor Dr. Hoffmanstahl,]] a plastic surgeon who makes disguises for Moriarty's assassins. [[spoiler: Like many others, killed when he is no longer of use to the BigBad.]]
** TheBrute: The Cossack, a silent and brutal assassin for hire who is able to keep up with Holmes ''and'' Simza.
** TheDarkChick: The Twins, a pair of men who are an early experiment for Hoffmanstahl and function as Moran's subordinates.
** TheSixthRanger: [[spoiler: Rene Heron, who is the last to be revealed and recruited specially for the assassination of the German ambassador at the peace summit in Switzerland.]]
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* GPSEvidence: When looking at some letters that Simza's brother Rene has sent her, Holmes and Watson notice that they are of the stock used by a printing press, and are musty, as if stored in a damp place. A wine stain on one of the sheets allows Holmes to conclude that they were from a wine cellar near a printing press, which is how they locate the anarchist leader Claude Ravache.
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** Again in the finale [[spoiler: when Sherlock has started his sacrifice and Watson steps out onto the balcony, which would have guaranteed Moriarty's defeat had the fight actually broken out.]]
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* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Watson refuses to be involved in Holmes' investigations anymore as he wants to live a happy married life. Moriarty decides to target him anyway. Holmes thwarts the attempt on Watson's life onboard the train he took on his very honeymoon, and Watson is then forced to go back in action.
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* FromBadToWorse: Near the end of the film, [[spoiler:while Holmes and Moriarty fight in their minds, Holmes starts by noting that Moriarty has a serious advantage from Holmes' disabled arm. Shortly thereafter, he thinks something we have never hear him say the like of in any fight in the two films: "Arsenal running low." Moriarty "kills" him seconds later. He is both physically and mentally incapable of beating Moriarty in hand-to-hand, and they both know Moriarty's going to try to kill him.]]
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* FromBadToWorse: Near the end of the film, [[spoiler:while Holmes and Moriarty fight in their minds, Holmes starts by noting that Moriarty has a serious advantage from Holmes' disabled arm. Shortly thereafter, he thinks something we have never hear him say the like of in any fight in the two films: "Arsenal running low." Moriarty "kills" him seconds later. He is both physically and mentally incapable of beating Moriarty in hand-to-hand, and they both know Moriarty's going to try to kill him.]]him... [[DefensiveFeintTrap except that wasn't]] [[TakingYouWithMe Sherlock's real plan.]]]]
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Dangerously Genre Savvy is being merged with Genre Savvy. Misuse and zero context examples will be cut.
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* DangerouslyGenreSavvy:
** Moriarty is perfectly aware that Holmes will figure out his plans if left to his own devices, so he leaves [[RedHerring Red Herrings]] to distract him and lure him into vulnerable positions.
** He also correctly figured ahead of time that Irene would want to meet him in a crowded, public area - her favorite restaurant. To solve that, he literally buys out ''the entire crowd'' to leave when Moran taps a glass three times. It's also possible that he poisoned her tea strainer rather than her pot of tea knowing that she'd ask for a fresh pot when she arrived. He may have even, as an extra precaution, bribed the waiting staff to poison everything that Irene asked to be brought to her.
** The Cossack sent to kill Simza put protection lining in his coat because he knows she uses throwing knives. He also clips a line to Holmes, presumably to limit his mobility. Or maybe he just realized [[WindowPain they were fighting in front of a closed window]].
** Moriarty's tendency to kill pretty much everybody that even has a vague idea of who he is means that Holmes has a very difficult time gathering evidence against him.
** Moriarty is perfectly aware that Holmes will figure out his plans if left to his own devices, so he leaves [[RedHerring Red Herrings]] to distract him and lure him into vulnerable positions.
** He also correctly figured ahead of time that Irene would want to meet him in a crowded, public area - her favorite restaurant. To solve that, he literally buys out ''the entire crowd'' to leave when Moran taps a glass three times. It's also possible that he poisoned her tea strainer rather than her pot of tea knowing that she'd ask for a fresh pot when she arrived. He may have even, as an extra precaution, bribed the waiting staff to poison everything that Irene asked to be brought to her.
** The Cossack sent to kill Simza put protection lining in his coat because he knows she uses throwing knives. He also clips a line to Holmes, presumably to limit his mobility. Or maybe he just realized [[WindowPain they were fighting in front of a closed window]].
** Moriarty's tendency to kill pretty much everybody that even has a vague idea of who he is means that Holmes has a very difficult time gathering evidence against him.
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** There's really no one that Holmes could hurt that would get under Moriarty's skin, seeing that he's a sociopath (and Holmes doesn't seem like the type to do something that underhanded). However, there ''is'' some''thing'' that, if lost, would set Moriarty off: [[spoiler:his ill-begotten war fortunes.]] Which is exactly what Holmes deprives him of.
to:
** There's really no one that Holmes could hurt that would get under Moriarty's skin, seeing that he's a sociopath (and Holmes doesn't seem like the type to do something that underhanded). However, there ''is'' some''thing'' that, if lost, would set Moriarty off: [[spoiler:his [[WarForFunAndProfit ill-begotten war fortunes.fortunes]].]] Which is exactly what Holmes deprives him of.
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* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler: Irene's handkerchief]], given to him as a [[KickTheDog dog kicking]] by Moriarty. Subverted in that he disposes of it so it wouldn't cloud his thoughts in pursuing Moriarty with the full range of his intellect.
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* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler: Irene's handkerchief]], given to him as a [[KickTheDog dog kicking]] by Moriarty. Subverted in that he Holmes sees it as a distraction (possibly Moriarty's intent in giving it to him) and disposes of it so it wouldn't cloud his thoughts in pursuing Moriarty with the full range of his intellect.can't haunt him.
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* WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied: A variation; Moriarty tells Holmes that [[spoiler:Irene Adler]] [[BlatantLies was killed by a rare strain of tuberculosis]], but Holmes is reading between the lines and deduces that Moriarty arranged for her to be poisoned.
** Bear in mind, Moriarty is telling Holmes what the ''police'' think happened.
** Bear in mind, Moriarty is telling Holmes what the ''police'' think happened.
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* WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied: A variation; Moriarty tells Holmes that the police believe [[spoiler:Irene Adler]] [[BlatantLies was killed by died from a rare strain of tuberculosis]], tuberculosis, but Holmes is reading between the lines and deduces that Moriarty arranged for her to be poisoned.
** Bear in mind, Moriarty is telling Holmes what the ''police'' think happened.poisoned.
** Bear in mind, Moriarty is telling Holmes what the ''police'' think happened.
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* BookEnds: [[spoiler: Irene's handkerchief in relation to her entering and exiting the films' plots.]]
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* BookEnds: {{Bookends}}: [[spoiler: Irene's handkerchief in relation to her entering and exiting the films' plots.]]
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* BlackTieInfiltration: Holmes, Watson and Simza have to attend a white tie ball being held at a peace conference in order to thwart Moriarty's scheme.
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* HesJustHiding: [[spoiler:In-Universe, literally.]]
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* HesJustHiding: [[spoiler:In-Universe, [[spoiler:An in-universe example by the end with Holmes, literally.]]
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* SecretlyWealthy: Mycroft, in the canon (''The Bruce-Partington Plans''), is said to be a relatively low-ranking official, drawing a salary of 450 pounds per year[[note]]Which was a respectable amount of money back then, a [[BritsWithBattleships Royal Navy]] Captain made about 375 pounds per year in 1893 and an Admiral maybe double that[[/note]] and too lazy to seek high public positions. In this film, he owns a majestic country house. One so secretly placed it's the ideal hiding place for Mary.
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fixed alphabetic order of entries
* DefensiveFeintTrap: Sherlock ensnares Moriarty in one in their climactic [[spoiler:BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind. Sherlock baits Moriarty with the "Sherlock Scan Beatdown" from the first movie, which Moriarty is quite capable of reciprocating, at which it shows how Sherlock truly would have no chance with his hobbling shoulder injury that Moriarty dealt him earlier in the movie... except the "inevitable" conclusion that they both drew did not take into account that Sherlock wasn't actually planning that, but to [[TakingYouWithMe take both of them for a dive off the Reichenbach Falls]].]]
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* DefensiveFeintTrap: Sherlock ensnares Moriarty in one in their climactic [[spoiler:BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind. Sherlock baits Moriarty with the "Sherlock Scan Beatdown" from the first movie, which Moriarty is quite capable of reciprocating, at which it shows how Sherlock truly would have no chance with his hobbling shoulder injury that Moriarty dealt him earlier in the movie... except the "inevitable" conclusion that they both drew did not take into account that Sherlock wasn't actually planning that, but to [[TakingYouWithMe take both of them for a dive off the Reichenbach Falls]].]]
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* DramaticIrony: Holmes notes that Moriarty can spark a world war with a lone gunman and the right target. This is exactly how World War I started.
* DramaticIrony: Holmes notes that Moriarty can spark a world war with a lone gunman and the right target. This is exactly how World War I started.
* LeParkour: The Cossack assassin uses agility to chase and fight Holmes and Simza. Real Cossacks, even today, are good at acrobatics.
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* OutOfCharacterAlert: After being separated during the train sequence, Mary is understandably confused when Watson sends her a letter saying he doesn't miss her and hopes to never see her again. Mycroft tells her the truth can be found from a code that he and Sherlock devised as children, wherein a notice would be taken at face value or as the complete opposite depending on if the first letter of the note was a consonant (face value) or a vowel (opposite); in this case, Watson's letter is of course the complete opposite of what he means. The letter of course, has been coded this way just in case someone affiliated with Moriarty or his criminal organization happens to intercept it.
* OutOfCharacterAlert: After being separated during the train sequence, Mary is understandably confused when Watson sends her a letter saying he doesn't miss her and hopes to never see her again. Mycroft tells her the truth can be found from a code that he and Sherlock devised as children, wherein a notice would be taken at face value or as the complete opposite depending on if the first letter of the note was a consonant (face value) or a vowel (opposite); in this case, Watson's letter is of course the complete opposite of what he means. The letter of course, has been coded this way just in case someone affiliated with Moriarty or his criminal organization happens to intercept it.
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* LeParkour: The Cossack assassin uses agility to chase and fight Holmes and Simza. Real Cossacks, even today, are good at acrobatics.
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* TranquilFury: Moriarty is in this state throughout the chess match.
** Holmes as well. Particularly evident when Moriarty says he'll go after Watson and Mary merely for sport.
** Holmes as well. Particularly evident when Moriarty says he'll go after Watson and Mary merely for sport.
* TranquilFury:
** Moriarty is in this state throughout the chess match.
** Holmes as well. Particularly evident when Moriarty says he'll go after Watson and Mary merely for sport.
** Moriarty is in this state throughout the chess match.
** Holmes as well. Particularly evident when Moriarty says he'll go after Watson and Mary merely for sport.
* UnitConfusion: The 6-8 miles per hour side-wind in which Moran makes his famous shot. That wind speed would barely move the air, let alone a bullet. The conditions portrayed in the flashback and which would make the shot the nigh-superhuman feat it is described as are far more in line with a 6-8 ''meter per second'' wind speed.
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* UnitConfusion: The 6-8 miles per hour side-wind in which Moran makes his famous shot. That wind speed would barely move the air, let alone a bullet. The conditions portrayed in the flashback and which would make the shot the nigh-superhuman feat it is described as are far more in line with a 6-8 ''meter per second'' wind speed.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: Holmes, to get in the train. (The original script had him as a priest, as in the original short story, but Downey Jr. asked to change for crossdressing as it was funnier. He also might have been referencing to a Holmes story in which he mentions disguising himself as an old lady.)
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* WholesomeCrossdresser: Holmes, to get in the train. (The original script had him as a priest, as in the original short story, but Downey Jr. asked to change for crossdressing as it was funnier. He also might have been referencing to a Holmes story in which he mentions disguising himself as an old lady.)
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!!Tropes
to:
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No bolding for work titles. See format rules on How To Create A Works Page, 4th paragraph \"No bolding is used for work titles\" and FAQ: \"What emphasis do I use for the title?: Whatever you do, it does not belong in boldface-font.\"
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'''''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows''''' is a 2011 British-American action mystery film directed by Creator/GuyRitchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. It is a sequel to the 2009 film ''Film/SherlockHolmes'', and likewise features the Franchise/SherlockHolmes and Dr. John Watson characters created by Sir Creator/ArthurConanDoyle. The screenplay was written by Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney. Creator/RobertDowneyJr and Creator/JudeLaw reprise their roles as Holmes and Watson and were joined by Creator/NoomiRapace as Simza, Creator/StephenFry as Mycroft Holmes and Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty.
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''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of
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** TheDragon: [[ColdSniper Colonel Sebastian Moran]], Moriarty's assassin and [[VillainousFriendship best friend.]]
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** TheDragon: [[ColdSniper Colonel Sebastian Moran]], Moriarty's assassin right hand man and [[VillainousFriendship best friend.]]
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** TheEvilGenius: [[HerrDoktor Dr. Hoffmanstahl, a plastic surgeon who makes disguises for Moriarty's assassins.
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** TheEvilGenius: [[HerrDoktor Dr. Hoffmanstahl, Hoffmanstahl,]] a plastic surgeon who makes disguises for Moriarty's assassins.assassins. [[spoiler: Like many others, killed when he is no longer of use to the BigBad.]]
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* FiveBadBand:
** BigBad: Professor Moriarty
** TheDragon: [[ColdSniper Colonel Sebastian Moran]], Moriarty's assassin and [[VillainousFriendship best friend.]]
** TheEvilGenius: [[HerrDoktor Dr. Hoffmanstahl, a plastic surgeon who makes disguises for Moriarty's assassins.
** TheBrute: The Cossack, a silent and brutal assassin for hire who is able to keep up with Holmes ''and'' Simza.
** TheDarkChick: The Twins, a pair of men who are an early experiment for Hoffmanstahl and function as Moran's subordinates.
** TheSixthRanger: [[spoiler: Rene Heron, who is the last to be revealed and recruited specially for the assassination of the German ambassador at the peace summit in Switzerland.]]
** BigBad: Professor Moriarty
** TheDragon: [[ColdSniper Colonel Sebastian Moran]], Moriarty's assassin and [[VillainousFriendship best friend.]]
** TheEvilGenius: [[HerrDoktor Dr. Hoffmanstahl, a plastic surgeon who makes disguises for Moriarty's assassins.
** TheBrute: The Cossack, a silent and brutal assassin for hire who is able to keep up with Holmes ''and'' Simza.
** TheDarkChick: The Twins, a pair of men who are an early experiment for Hoffmanstahl and function as Moran's subordinates.
** TheSixthRanger: [[spoiler: Rene Heron, who is the last to be revealed and recruited specially for the assassination of the German ambassador at the peace summit in Switzerland.]]
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[[redirect:Film/SherlockHolmes]]
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'''''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows''''' is a 2011 British-American action mystery film directed by Creator/GuyRitchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. It is a sequel to the 2009 film ''Film/SherlockHolmes'', and likewise features the Franchise/SherlockHolmes and Dr. John Watson characters created by Sir Creator/ArthurConanDoyle. The screenplay was written by Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney. Creator/RobertDowneyJr and Creator/JudeLaw reprise their roles as Holmes and Watson and were joined by Creator/NoomiRapace as Simza, Creator/StephenFry as Mycroft Holmes and Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty.
In the film, eccentric amateur detective Holmes and his companion Watson travel across Europe with a gypsy adventuress to foil an intricate plot by their cunning nemesis, Professor Moriarty. The film follows an original premise incorporating elements of Conan Doyle's short stories "The Final Problem" and "The Empty House".
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!!Tropes
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* ActionizedSequel: This movie spends more time on the chase and action sequences than on deduction and mystery in comparison to the first film. This is actually an accurate reflection of "The Final Problem", the canon story that ''A Game of Shadows'' is loosely based on. That story had no central mystery and very little deductive sequences, and was instead concerned entirely with the Holmes/Moriarty conflict.
* AffectionatePickpocket: Sherlock steals a message meant for Moriarty from Irene Adler, who tries to steal it back while kissing him, but Holmes just grabs her hand before it reaches its target.
* AlmightyJanitor: Mycroft is indispensible to the British government, even though no one knows what he exactly does.
* AmbiguouslyGay:
** Mycroft Holmes thoughtfully explains that he can understand how a man of a particular disposition could enjoy the company of women. He's also completely unashamed to walk around naked in front of one. However he's also a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, so it could be simply him.
** Sherlock Holmes, who is extremely attached to Watson. He talks about their relationship, but Watson objects to the term, so Holmes calls it a "partnership." Later, they dance together. Holmes asks how Watson learned to dance like that and Watsons says that Holmes taught him. However, Holmes clearly has romantic feelings toward Irene Adler.
* AndYourLittleDogToo: Moriarty makes a point of threatening Watson and Mary for no other reason than to get back at Holmes.
* ArchEnemy: Moriarty, naturally.
* AtTheOperaTonight: Holmes suspects the [[spoiler: bomb]] is at the opera house where Don Giovanni is playing [[spoiler: and Moriarty is attending]]. Then realizes that a few clues were actually {{Red Herring}}s.
* AvoidingTheGreatWar: Moriarty tries to start a world war so that he could supply weapons. He mentions that, even if he's stopped, the world will still find a way.
* AwesomeByAnalysis: Back again with Holmes' ability to play out a fight in his head before it begins to achieve victory. He even has a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind with Moriarty as they predict and counter-predict their movements in this fashion. Both times after the first, however, are subverted. [[spoiler:Simza interrupts by throwing a knife at the cossack assassin and Sherlock goes off script by blowing ash in Moriarty's face, grabbing him, and [[TakingYouWithMe leaping over the balcony]].]]
* BadassBookworm: In addition to Holmes, we have Moriarty, a Cambridge boxing champion, university professor, and diabolical mastermind.
* BadassInANiceSuit: At the peace conference, Holmes, Watson, and their {{evil counterpart}}s all qualify with their tuxedos.
* BadassInDistress: Holmes gets [[spoiler: captured and ''brutally'' tortured by Moriarty]] and has to be rescued by Watson. He's in very bad shape afterwards, but he still manages to help fight their way out. [[spoiler: Later, it turns out that he intentionally allowed himself to be caught and tortured in order to get close enough to pickpocket the notebook containing financial details of Moriarty's criminal empire.]]
* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: Holmes and Moriarty have an AwesomeByAnalysis-off as they plan their attacks.
** Though the twist is that it's showing exactly how a real fist-fight ''would'' go if they went for it. They just both happen to be predicting the same sequence of events [[spoiler: in which Moriarty wins and throws Holmes off the balcony.]]
* TheBigBoard: Holmes has one (resembling a RoomFullOfCrazy) that uses red string in an attempt to draw connections between Moriarty's criminals acts. Later Holmes comes across a neater version in the Heilbronn arms factory showing [[WorldWarOne what Moriarty is actually planning]].
* BiggerStick: Moran has Watson pinned behind a covered piece of machinery, until Watson notices what it is he's behind--[[spoiler:a massive cannon]].
* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: An unusually lethal use of this trope occurs when Watson shoots a Redcoat in the arm on the train, causing him to drop a primed grenade.
* BombThrowingAnarchists: Simza and her brother were a member of an anarchist organization before they grew too extreme.
* BookEnds: [[spoiler: Irene's handkerchief in relation to her entering and exiting the films' plots.]]
* BoringButPractical: The pony Holmes ends up with for the border crossing. Compared to the horses everybody else is riding, it's distinctly lacking in coolness. It's easily the most ''efficient'' mount in the mountains though.
* BoxingBattler: Moriarty, who is a former champion.
* BrickJoke: [[spoiler:Holmes's camouflage suit. First used so he can shoot Watson with little blowdarts. Then it's what Holmes wears to hide himself in the room where Watson is typing his manuscript of the events.]]
** Moriarty makes a metaphor about him and Holmes being a fisherman and a trout [[spoiler: during the scene where he tortures Holmes in Heilbronn. Holmes later reveals that he willingly let himself get tortured in an effort to pickpocket Moriarty's notebook. When Moriarty flips through the decoy notebook Holmes left, he finds a flip-book cartoon of a stick man fishing up a shark only to get eaten by it, leaving the words ''Be Careful What You [[{{Pun}} Fish]] For!'']]
* CallBack:
** [[spoiler:Holmes's use of the pipe ashes to distract Moriarty is reminiscent of his use of Irene's handkerchief in the first film to distract a boxing opponent.]]
** Watson is ''still'' good at kicking down doors.
** Holmes talked about going to see ''DonGiovanni'' in the first film.
** The large cove in the bowler from the prison yard shows up at [[spoiler: Holmes's funeral]].
** "Always good to see you, Watson," is a bittersweet example, especially in light of the fact that [[spoiler:Watson is the last thing he sees. He even closes his eyes to make sure of it]].
** The Redcoat that tries to shoot Watson and Holmes immolating himself as a result of a rigged bullet in his Maxim gun (or more specifically, Holmes replacing one of the bullets with a tube of lipstick so that the gun temporarily jams long enough for Watson to shoot one of the gunners) might be a call back to how Blackwood kills Ambassador Standish by replacing one of the bullets in his revolver with a specially-rigged blank.
** The first time we get an actual glimpse of Moriarty, he's shrouded in all-concealing shadows, like his appearances in the first film.
* CaneFu: Holmes uses his umbrella to hold off a knife wielding Cossack.
* CarryingACake Bomb: When Holmes, Watson and Simza are being directed to Claude Ravache's place, a cake for a reception at nearby hotel is just being wheeled out of the kitchen they travel through. Holmes later realizes that it is actually a bomb.
* CeilingCling: The Cossack assassin.
* ChekhovsArmory: Moriarty [[spoiler:feeding the pigeons, the plants in his office, the equations on the board, Holmes's camouflage, the oxygen device, the twin Mooks, the wedding gift]].
* ChekhovsSkill: While describing him to Watson near the beginning, Holmes offhandedly mentions that Moriarty [[spoiler:was the boxing champion of Cambridge]].
* TheChessmaster: Both Holmes and Moriarty, as per the norm. The climax of the film even [[spoiler:has them playing chess outside the location of an assassination, their moves mirroring what their 'pieces' are doing inside. The game actually ends verbally, with them stating their moves aloud until one of them wins both the game and the game of wits they've been going at the entire film]].
* ChessMotifs: All over the place, especially in the GrandFinale, which consists largely of a literal chess game between Holmes and Moriarty.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Moriarty has Holmes suspended by a hook in his shoulder and knocks him around while singing along to opera.
** The song itself is actually a lied of Schubert, called The Trout. Roughly translated, it's about a fisherman who tricks a trout into biting his line by muddying the waters and the fish is betrayed. The music editor was a little sadistic with his choices.
* ColdSniper: Sebastian Moran.
* ComplexityAddiction: Moriarty, with the means at his disposal, he probably could have killed Holmes any time he wanted. Moran could have done it without much trouble, if nothing else. He clearly wanted an opponent to make the game more interesting. He ultimately dies from it: When Sherlock goads him into a complex fistfight in their heads, he falls a ''third'' time to Sherlock feigning defeatism, this time for a simple attack comprising of [[AHandfulForAnEye a faceful of pipe embers]] and a grapple sending them over the ledge into the waterfalls.
* ContinuityNod: As in the first film, Holmes finds himself dining alone in a hotel.
* CPRCleanPrettyReliable: Averted. When Holmes passes out after the shootout and running chase in the Heilbronn train yard and forest, Watson's chest compressions do not revive Holmes, so he has to use adrenaline. After Holmes is revived, he mentions that his chest really hurts. Adrenaline is what's actually used to restart a heart that's completely stopped.
* CursedWithAwesome: Holmes seems to consider his own exceptional perception abilities to be this.
-->'''Sim''': What do you see?
-->'''Holmes''': ''Everything''. That is my curse.
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy:
** Moriarty is perfectly aware that Holmes will figure out his plans if left to his own devices, so he leaves [[RedHerring Red Herrings]] to distract him and lure him into vulnerable positions.
** He also correctly figured ahead of time that Irene would want to meet him in a crowded, public area - her favorite restaurant. To solve that, he literally buys out ''the entire crowd'' to leave when Moran taps a glass three times. It's also possible that he poisoned her tea strainer rather than her pot of tea knowing that she'd ask for a fresh pot when she arrived. He may have even, as an extra precaution, bribed the waiting staff to poison everything that Irene asked to be brought to her.
** The Cossack sent to kill Simza put protection lining in his coat because he knows she uses throwing knives. He also clips a line to Holmes, presumably to limit his mobility. Or maybe he just realized [[WindowPain they were fighting in front of a closed window]].
** Moriarty's tendency to kill pretty much everybody that even has a vague idea of who he is means that Holmes has a very difficult time gathering evidence against him.
* DeadpanSnarker: Aside from the snarkers from the first movie, ''Mary Morstan'' of all people has a few wonderfully snark-tastic moments in the sequel.
* DealWithTheDevil: The leader of the French Anarchists describes his alliance with Moriarty as this.
* DemotedToExtra: Inspector Lestrade gets hit by this. He may not have been one of the most central characters in the first, but he still had a decent amount of scenes and relevance to the plot. In the second movie, he is entirely left out, only briefly appearing at the end with few lines. His sergeant gets about the same amount of screentime, though he had a number of scenes in the original film as well.
* DefensiveFeintTrap: Sherlock ensnares Moriarty in one in their climactic [[spoiler:BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind. Sherlock baits Moriarty with the "Sherlock Scan Beatdown" from the first movie, which Moriarty is quite capable of reciprocating, at which it shows how Sherlock truly would have no chance with his hobbling shoulder injury that Moriarty dealt him earlier in the movie... except the "inevitable" conclusion that they both drew did not take into account that Sherlock wasn't actually planning that, but to [[TakingYouWithMe take both of them for a dive off the Reichenbach Falls]].]]
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: "Little Hansel." The German name Hansel means "Little Hans," so literally the gun is called "Little Little Hans."
* {{Determinator}}: The Cossack goes through a hell of a lot of punishment without slowing down.
* DidntSeeThatComing: For Holmes, there are two instances: one is being tricked by Moriarty into thinking that the bomb was the opera house where DonGiovanni was playing, only realizing he's been fooled when he sees Moriarty in a private viewing box. For Moriarty, [[spoiler:that Holmes noticed his red notebook during the Heilbronn torture scene and snatched it from him]].
** Becomes an ObligatoryJoke when Holmes is fighting the Cossack, who attaches a line to Holmes during their struggle. Holmes only discovers this ''after'' throwing the Cossack out the window and promptly quips to Sim, "Didn't see this in the cards, did you?" before being yanked out after him. To start the fight that even happened, he plans a very elaborate series of moves to take down the Cossack without much trouble. Except he's taken by surprise when Simza launches a few throwing knives at the Cossack three moves into Holmes's planned takedown.
** And the finale [[spoiler: when Moriarty doesn't take into account that Holmes was willing to sacrifice himself just to beat him.]]
* DisguisedInDrag: PlayedForLaughs with Holmes on the train. His is done so poorly, that he doesn't seem to have even bothered to shave... though at least he is wearing lipstick.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Holmes.]]
* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler: Moriarty.]]
* DoubleEntendre: Holmes attributes Watson's weight gain since they last met to him 'noshing on Mary's muffins', and dislikes riding horses because he doesn't like the thought of something with a mind of its own between his legs...
* DoYouTrustMe: Mary naturally replies, "No."
-->'''Sherlock Holmes:''' Well then I shall have to...do something about that. ''[throws her off the train]''[[note]]He timed it perfectly, though; he tossed her into a river where Mycroft was waiting with a boat to pick her up, and it was to keep Moriarty's troops from shooting her[[/note]]
* TheDragon: Sebastian Moran, to Moriarty.
* DramaticIrony: Holmes notes that Moriarty can spark a world war with a lone gunman and the right target. This is exactly how World War I started.
* DramaticGunCock: After making Holmes toss aside his revolver, Moran invites him to take an automatic C96 Mauser pistol and even insert a magazine. Holmes notes that the latter does make loading easier, but you'd still need to retract the bolt--[[QuickDraw Moran has his pistol cocked and aimed at Holmes' head in an instant.]]
-->'''Moran:''' Easier done than said.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler: Irene, unfortunately.]]
* DyingAlone: Watson reveals one of the reasons he wants to get married so badly is to avoid this.
* TheEndOrIsIt: [[spoiler:A Not Quite Dead Sherlock sneaks into the room where Watson is typing the story of their adventure and types a question mark after "THE END" in Watson's manuscript.]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Moriarty's "dismissal" of Irene Adler from his services.
* EveryoneKnowsMorse: Watson apparently, as Holmes has him send a telegram. He must have learned it in the service.
* EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes: Watson is so drunk arriving at the wedding that Holmes has to signal the bagpipe players to start playing in order to wake him up.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: This is the deciding factor in the [[spoiler: 'duel' between Holmes and Moriarty at the end; Moriarty thinks, like Holmes, that he is guaranteed to win the fight because of Holmes' injury, but he fails to take into account the idea of Holmes sacrificing himself to kill Moriarty. Holmes even explicitly says that he'd be willing to do a HeroicSacrifice if it completely assured Moriarty's destruction as well, and Moriarty still doesn't factor it in]].
* EvilCounterpart:
** Moriarty to Holmes, with a mind to match his, fighting skills to the same, and he's even capable of [[spoiler:the same Sherlock Scan Holmes uses to defeat opponents]].
** [[TheDragon Moran]] is an EvilCounterpart to Watson. They're both reliable, competent, neat sidekicks, former military men (who fought in the same war), and they are both excellent marksmen. They both have a remarkable amount of devotion to Moriarty and Holmes, respectively.
* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt: Holmes chastises Watson for not taking the opportunity to shoot the redcoat who's keeping them pinned down with machinegun fire when his gun jams, not realising that the mook Watson shot instead was carrying a primed grenade -- which he has now lost track of.
* ExactWords: [[spoiler: Rene's letter includes a sketched self-portrait and urges Sim to memorize his face, because she will never see it again. Much later, it's revealed that Rene has undergone MagicPlasticSurgery in order to impersonate one of the delegates at the peace conference.]]
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: "Perhaps you've heard of me. My name is Sherlock Ho_(bomb goes off) Ho-Holmes." Steps outside vault to find his would-be client has done a bunk.
* FairPlayWhodunit: One clue is given to ''us'', but not for Holmes. In a nutshell, Moriarty is going to see ''DonGiovanni'', but at the book signing, pay attention to the dialogue between him and Moran: he apologetically tells Moran that he won't need his ticket, to which Moran says, "It's a shame. I was looking forward to Don Giovanni." We see Moran backstage at the play later, getting up when Holmes, Watson and Simza come in. He is holding what looks like a concealed rifle. Turns out he isn't seeing the play not because he'll be backstage, but because he'll be on the rooftop to shoot a firearms factory owner who is attending a business dinner at a hotel across the plaza. Other clues and plot points, such as [[spoiler:the key to the encoding of Moriarty's notebook, and Holmes' first attempt to pickpocket it from him while disguised as the valet]], are also displayed for our benefit well before they pay off.
* FalseFlagOperation: How Moriarty puts France and Germany on the brink of war.
* FanDisservice: Naked Stephen Fry.
** Also, half-naked, rather built Robert Downey Jr... wearing [[DisguisedInDrag badly applied blue eyeshadow and lipstick]].
* FauxAffablyEvil: Moriarty. He drops the act entirely during the interrogation scene.
* FieryCoverup: Meinhard's murder midway through the film. We see Holmes, Watson and Simza reach the banquet room moments after the bomb goes off and kills a group of assembled businessmen. But as he looks at the corpses, Holmes looks at Alfred Meinhard's and notices that he has what looks like a bullet wound in his head. He then looks up and notices a bullet hole in the glass, allowing the three to pinpoint the location of the shooter's perch. Naturally, they focus on the shooting victim rather than the collateral victims of the bomb. This bomb does two things: one, to hide that there was a shooting and only one intended victim; and two, to make it look like the work of anarchists.
* FightingFingerprint: The ImprobableAimingSkills Moran demonstrates during the Meinhard assassination plays a key role in Holmes and Watson figuring out who he is.
* ForegoneConclusion: [[spoiler: The camera gives us a really nice view of Reichenbach Falls in the establishing shot of the castle just before the climax of the movie. Anyone familiar with Holmes mythology knows where they were headed.]]
** Mycroft makes a quick mention of a peace summit at Reichenbach very early on in the film, right before Watson's stag party.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** When Holmes [[spoiler:first officially meets Moriarty, he mentions that if it one-hundred percent assured Moriarty's destruction, he would gladly accept his own. He follows this through to the extreme at the end when he does a suicide leap off a cliff and [[TakingYouWithMe takes Moriarty with him]]]].
*** Before that, when showing Watson his [[StringTheory web of conspiracy]], Holmes told him [[spoiler:he'd give his life to see Moriarty's demise]].
** Also, the fate of the Parisian bomb-maker, who [[spoiler: commits suicide in an attempt to save his loved ones from Moriarty]].
** The wax figure of Holmes may be this for the potential sequel -- in "The Adventure of the Empty House" he used one as a bait for Moran.
** The first time Holmes goes to meet with Moriarty, Moriarty is listening to "The Trout" by Schubert, which Holmes recognizes and quotes a line from. The same tune is played again with greater significance and symbolism the next time the two meet face-to-face.
* FreezeFrameBonus: Pay close attention: when Moriarty first joins Holmes on the balcony, Holmes [[spoiler: is taking a puff on Mycroft's oxygen device. He quickly palms it, distracts Moriarty by having him set up their chess game, and then slips it back into his pocket.]]
* FromBadToWorse: Near the end of the film, [[spoiler:while Holmes and Moriarty fight in their minds, Holmes starts by noting that Moriarty has a serious advantage from Holmes' disabled arm. Shortly thereafter, he thinks something we have never hear him say the like of in any fight in the two films: "Arsenal running low." Moriarty "kills" him seconds later. He is both physically and mentally incapable of beating Moriarty in hand-to-hand, and they both know Moriarty's going to try to kill him.]]
* GameBreakingInjury: The way the final fight plays out is almost entirely determined by the fact that [[spoiler: Holmes is still recovering from having a meat hook stabbed through his shoulder]], and Moriarty has zero qualms about exploiting it.
* GeniusBruiser: Moriarty was a boxing champion at Cambridge. His fighting style is very aggressive, described by Sherlock as "feral, but experienced".
* GenreBlindness: Irene, [[spoiler:despite knowing very well that Moriarty doesn't like to leave loose ends, still works for him and knows that he'd kill her the moment he let her go. The point where this comes in is that while she's GenreSavvy enough to ask for a different pot of tea when she sees one setting at the table, she doesn't think twice about the '''second''' pot. Or simply not drinking tea. Or eating anything at the table.]]
* GilliganCut: Midway through the movie, when Holmes, Watson, Simza and the gypsies are preparing to travel to Heilbronn:
-->'''Madame Simza Heron:''' ''[showing Holmes and Watson their horses, to Watson]'' The black one is yours. The grey one is mine. ''[to Holmes]'' And this is for you.
-->'''Sherlock Holmes:''' ''[clears his throat, uncertain]'' Ah, hm, right! Where are the wagons?
-->'''Madame Simza Heron:''' The wagon is too slow. Can’t you ride?
-->'''Dr. John Watson:''' ''[grimaces]'' It’s not that he can’t ride... How is it you put it, Holmes?
-->'''Sherlock Holmes:''' They're dangerous at both ends and crafty in the middle. [[DoubleEntendre Why would I want anything with a mind of its own bobbing about between my legs?]] Then I should require a bicycle, thank you very much. It’s 1891! Could have chartered a balloon! ''[He stalks off; Watson turns to Sim]''
-->'''Dr. John Watson:''' How can we make this more manageable?
-->''[Cuts to the group riding their horses through the woods, followed a few seconds later by Holmes - who is trotting on a little pony!]''
-->'''Sherlock Holmes:''' Where's the fire?
** There's also one earlier in the film when Holmes warns Watson against dancing with the gypsies, saying, "You know what happens when you dance." Cuts to Watson doing a particularly unusual jig with Simza as Holmes looks on and downs a bottle of hooch.
* GoKartingWithBowser: While Simza and Watson try to stop the threat at the peace summit, Holmes and Moriarty play a round of blitz chess, although they also talk aloud about the more real-life version of it they're playing with the participants and events inside.
* GoodOldFisticuffs: [[spoiler:Moriarty has a more standard boxing style compared to Holmes' esoteric fighting skills. Holmes describes it as "feral", due to the fact that Moriarty was a bit out of practice at the beginning of the fight, but still good enough to get the job done, as Holmes was crippled and on the mend while Moriarty was fresh and unscathed. As the fight wears on, the trope is subverted when Moriarty unveils his own Bartitsu moves and his punches gains more precision and calculation, prompting Holmes to say "Ah, ''there's'' Cambridge's Boxing Champion!"]]
* GoryDiscretionShot: When Ravache puts the gun to his head and kills himself, the moment he pulls the trigger to blow his head off, the scene immediately cuts to the patrons of the tavern upstairs reacting to the sound of the shot. Everyone then goes to grab their weapons and heads to the stairs to investigate the noise. Obviously, seeing his brains splatter everywhere would be too gory, but the shocked look on Simza's face compensates.
* AHandfulForAnEye: Holmes steals handfuls of rice and beans from a market stall, and later throws them in the face of Moriarty's thugs during the fight in the pre-credits sequence. Later still, [[spoiler:when he faces down Moriarty, he blows a cloud of tobacco ash into his face.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: A very minor example. Although you wouldn't call her an enemy, Mary is most definitely ''not'' a member of Holmes' fan club in the first film, nor at the start of second film (being thrown off a bridge by him, only to be rescued by his brother who has a penchant for nudism doesn't help either). But by the end of the film she trusts Holmes enough to follow his instructions re: Moriarty's vault, effectively becoming his agent.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Holmes. Knowing he can't beat Moriarty in a straight fight due to his [[GameBreakingInjury crippled arm]], he [[TakeAThirdOption takes a third option]] and chooses to [[TakingYouWithMe take Moriarty with him]]. Perhaps cannier members of the audience knew how that one was going to end, but what matters is that ''Holmes'' thought he was going to die.]]
* HesJustHiding: [[spoiler:In-Universe, literally.]]
* HistoricalInJoke: According to Holmes, Moriarty was behind the Mayerling incident, in which an heir to the throne of Austria Hungary apparently murdered his mistress, then killed himself. Since the incident first occurred, and its reference on Holmes's conspiracy web, there have been multiple alternate theories advanced, including that the two were murdered as part of a plot to cause a European War.
** Mycroft with regards to the automobile. "In the future there will be one of those machines in every town in Europe."
* HomageShot: The grapple hold Holmes uses to [[spoiler:throw himself and Moriarty off the balcony]] is an arm triangle, a move from jujitsu (and, intuitively, Bartitsu)... and also the same exact way illustrator Sidney Paget drew Holmes restricting [[spoiler:Moriarty in the scene of their falling in "The Adventure of the Empty House".]]
* HowDareYouDieOnMe: [[spoiler: Watson to Holmes]] while on the wagon train upon escaping Heilbronn.
* ICallItVera: "Time to introduce [[{{BFG}} Little Hansel]]", an artillery cannon. Believe it or not, it's a real cannon that dates back to that era. {{O|verlyLongName}}fficially, it's a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bertha_%28howitzer%29 L/12 42-cm Type M-Gerät 14 Kurze Marine-Kanone]], but most people just called it "Big Bertha".
* IHaveYourWife:
** Moriarty uses this to force Claude Ravache, the leader of the anarchists to follow his orders, which apparently, as part of Moriarty's "no loose ends" deal, include the bit where he shoots himself in the head upon finishing his job and getting questioned by Holmes. However, just as well, Moriarty probably has had Ravache's family killed.
** Watson gets involved in the plot because of this. Holmes tells Moriarty that Watson is not part of the game, Moriarty announces his plans to [[AndYourLittleDogToo kill Watson and Mary anyway]]. It is averted, however, in that Moriarty '''expects''' Holmes to rescue Mary and John, it is one of many diversions Moriarty uses to keep Holmes, the only man who could stop him, busy.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Subverted. The gun battle in the factory turns into this due to the [[JustifiedTrope impractically short ranges, plenty of metallic objects for cover and miserable visibility]], but while in the open, only Holmes, Watson, Simza, and one other gypsy get away (albeit with Watson being grazed by Moran and Holmes having his bad arm) while the rest of the Gypsies are mowed down like bowling pins.
* ImprovisedWeapon: Holmes is as ever the CombatPragmatist, but his throwing a rooster at a knife-wielding Cossack is surely worthy of mention.
* IndyPloy: [[spoiler:At their final confrontation, both Holmes and Moriarty mentally predict how their battle will end, with both concluding that Moriarty will be the winner. Holmes then takes the next best plan and throws the both of them off the cliff. However, subverted in the end when it is revealed that Holmes had prepared for that possibility.]]
* InvoluntaryCharityDonation: [[spoiler:The assets seized from Moriarty by the police are used to make an anonymous donation to the Widows and Orphans of War fund.]]
* ItsPersonal:
** [[spoiler:In their first face to face meeting, Moriarty reveals he killed Irene and Watson is next.]] Holmes goes from being almost giddy about his rivalry with Moriarty to being much more withdrawn, showing some Tranquil Fury, and decides that Moriarty needs to be stopped. No matter the cost.
** There's really no one that Holmes could hurt that would get under Moriarty's skin, seeing that he's a sociopath (and Holmes doesn't seem like the type to do something that underhanded). However, there ''is'' some''thing'' that, if lost, would set Moriarty off: [[spoiler:his ill-begotten war fortunes.]] Which is exactly what Holmes deprives him of.
* JustBetweenYouAndMe
* KansasCityShuffle: Holmes and Moriarty each pull one on the other.
** Moriarty fools Holmes into thinking that an assassination target will be in the Paris opera house because of a secret passage connecting it to the headquarters of a known anarchist group who were in Moriarty's power. In reality, the opera is a misdirection and the real target is a nearby hotel.
** For most of the film, Holmes is running around trying to foil Moriarty's assassination plots with limited success. Moriarty tells him in the end it will do no good because he has already won by owning all the capital which will be used to fuel an inevitable world war and make him rich. Holmes reveals that he already accomplished his real goal of securing the code book Moriarty used to keep track of all his assets and thus confiscate them. He also had the much simpler plan of killing Moriarty to take him out of the picture after bankrupting him because the law couldn't touch him.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Moran slips away after killing Sim's brother.]] This is consistent with "The Final Problem," as [[spoiler:Moran still being at large was the main reason Holmes had to fake his death]].
* KillAndReplace: [[spoiler:How Moriarty plans to smuggle an assassin into the peace conference.]]
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Irene and Moriarty.]]
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Moriarty tells Holmes, "Let's not waste any more of each other's time. We both know how this ends." As do any viewers who have read "The Final Problem."
* MagicPlasticSurgery: [[spoiler: Sim's brother is made to look like one of the ambassadors as part of the peace summit plot. The "magic" part is averted, though, in that when trying to identify him, Sim and Watson look for exactly the sort of telltale clues that this trope usually ignores. It also probably helps that the guest list uses sketched portraits, not photographs, so Renee's disguise doesn't have to be a perfect replication.]]
* MoreDakka: Including a gatling gun and an early LMG.
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: The Cossack, the [[LeParkour acrobatic]] {{Determinator}} assassin.
* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Mycroft apparently has a habit of wandering around his home stark naked. He has a cheerful conversation with a mortified Mary when she runs into him like this, while his servants, who obviously are used to this, don't even bat an eye when they come in to serve breakfast.
* NeatFreak: Mycroft is implied to be this. Doesn't like to shake hands, barely goes anywhere other than his home and office, carries [[ChekhovsGun a personal supply of oxygen]]... even his habit of walking around his house naked could be a reference to SuperOCD sufferer [[TheAviator Howard Hughes]].
* NeutralFemale: Averted. When Watson pins an assassin, Mary makes sure to grab his gun and hold it against his head.
* NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler:Holmes and Moriarty. In the case of Holmes, he is revealed to be alive at the end of the film.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Happens during Holmes and Simza's fight with the Cossack, when Simza pushes a pipe into the assassin causing him to fall out a window. She is unaware that there is a rope on the end of the pipe attached to Holmes's belt, and as a result, Holmes is pulled out the window a few seconds later. Similarly, Simza putting several throwing knives into him (for which he wore a protective undershirt) before Holmes can carry out his planned takedown forces Holmes to think on the fly when the Cossack recovers, ultimately making the whole fight a lot more drawn out and dangerous than it had to be.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: When Holmes, Watson, and Simza are trapped in the weapons factory, the guards try to take them out with an artillery cannon. However, they only succeed in blowing a hole in the wall that was keeping the trio inside, allowing them to escape into the forest. Had they closed in with small arms, they would have won.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: [[spoiler: Even though it never actually takes place except in Holmes' and Moriarty's minds,]] the final confrontation definitely qualifies. It's not so much a fistfight as an excuse for [[spoiler: Moriarty to repeatedly and brutally whale on Holmes' wounded shoulder]].
* NotSoStoic: [[spoiler: Moriarty during his chilling torture of Holmes. He's clearly ''enjoying'' it.]]
** Holmes ''himself'', during the same scene. Seeing the guy who has kept an almost-perfect poker face over the course of two movies - in the face of physical punishment, worry that he's losing his best friend to marriage, Watson almost being blown up by Blackwood's booby trap, [[spoiler: the news of Irene's murder being sprung on him, Moriarty's threats toward Watson and Mary, Ravache putting a gun to his own head and pulling the trigger right in front of them, and carnage from a bombing that he could have prevented - break down and howl in agony while Moriarty tortures him is incredibly disturbing.]]
*** Actually, Holmes may have been playing this up a bit; he clearly possesses enough presence of mind to secretly [[spoiler: switch out the red ledger, and he may have been acting in an effort to get Moriarty to think he was hurt worse than he really was. Appearing weak is a common feint.]]
*** There wasn't much need to play it up, [[spoiler: considering his heart stops not long afterwards.]] The not-so-stoic moment just makes his presence of mind that much more impressive.
* OhCrap: Moran's reaction when Watson reveals [[spoiler:he's been hiding behind a giant cannon]] aimed directly at his perch is a rather hilarious "That's not fair!"
** Shortly before Watson has one when he holds up his cap to the small gap between the gun's barrel and shield, only for Moran to instantly put a bullet through it.
** Moriarty when he realizes that Holmes [[spoiler:spotted (and subsequently replaced) his little red ledger book with one that is a zoetrope that says, ''Be Careful What You [[{{Pun}} Fish]] For!'']]
** Moriarty has this kind of reaction when Holmes asks, "Does ''The Art of Domestic Horticulture'' mean anything to you?" and we see that Moriarty also neglects to care for the plants in his windowsill.
** Watson has one when his winnings get scattered across the floor due to Holmes and Simza's fight with the Cossack interrupting them and he realizes he's surrounded by a bunch of opportunistic gamblers.
-->'''John Watson:''' Now wait a minute. ''[cue an all-out brawl]''
** Watson has another when he knocks out the head gypsy for taking his scarf, to look around him and see a whole bunch of knife carrying angry gypsies.
** The assassin on the train who gets shot by Watson has just enough time to realize that he can't find the primed grenade he dropped in the satchel full of them and look at his comrade before the whole thing blows up and the train breaks in half.
** Irene has a very subtle one when she realizes [[spoiler:Moriarty hired ''everyone'' in the restaurant they were meeting in, and makes them leave on a code signal, meaning their public meeting is actually a lot more private than she expected]].
** Watson gets one after hearing the usually nigh-omniscient Holmes utter the words "I was mistaken."
** One for the audience members who have read the original stories when [[{{Foreshadowing}} Mycroft casually mentions going to a summit at Reichenbach early in the movie.]] Yeah, this isn't going to end well.
** Another for the audience occurs after the "two-pronged" chess match between Holmes and Moriarty. [[spoiler:After Moriarty threatens that he'll ''endeavour to find the most creative of endings'' for Watson and Mary after he deals with him, Sherlock begins to analyse the upcoming fight between him and his adversary. While he takes his injury into account, the predictions progress as normal. Until, that is, Moriarty's voice enters the fray.]]
--> [[spoiler:'''Moriarty:''' Come, now. Do you ''really'' think you're the only one who can play this game?]]
** [[spoiler: Holmes realizing how insane Moriarty is, when he impales him with a hook and proceeds to twist it around while singing to an operatic piece.]]
* OnlyAFleshWound: Moran [[spoiler:got shot ''in the side,'' yet seems pretty fine just a few days later when he kills Rene at the peace conference]].
** Just about every wound in the film is brushed off, up to and including having a building collapsed on you - but [[spoiler:Holmes's shoulder wound]] takes a serious toll on him, for plot reasons.
* OutOfCharacterAlert: After being separated during the train sequence, Mary is understandably confused when Watson sends her a letter saying he doesn't miss her and hopes to never see her again. Mycroft tells her the truth can be found from a code that he and Sherlock devised as children, wherein a notice would be taken at face value or as the complete opposite depending on if the first letter of the note was a consonant (face value) or a vowel (opposite); in this case, Watson's letter is of course the complete opposite of what he means. The letter of course, has been coded this way just in case someone affiliated with Moriarty or his criminal organization happens to intercept it.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: According to Watson, it takes a very serious crisis to make Mycroft Holmes miss an appointment at the Diogenes Club, especially when his favorite dish, potted shrimp, is on the menu that night.
** Cool-headed Irene Adler is visibly struggling to control her fear when she realises Moriarty has outmaneuvered her at the restaurant.
* OutOfFocus: While he was never really a central character to begin with, Inspector Lestrade is almost entirely absent in this movie. The only time we see him at all is at the very end of the movie, and even then, he's only briefly seen a couple of times with almost no lines.
* LeParkour: The Cossack assassin uses agility to chase and fight Holmes and Simza. Real Cossacks, even today, are good at acrobatics.
* PaperThinDisguise: Even Holmes has to agree that dressing up (poorly) as a woman for the train fight is not his best disguise, but he had to make do with what little time he had to prepare.
* PietaPlagiarism: Sim [[spoiler:and her brother after he collapses from Moran's poisoned dart]].
* PoliticallyCorrectHistory:
** Holmes and Watson share a dance together and get nothing more than a few odd looks in an age where homosexuality was illegal.
*** To be fair at the time, two male friends sharing a dance would be considered more akin to a joke than a statement of their sexuality. Its recently with the fact its now legal, and quite often encouraged, that we attribute any sign of affection or companionship as a sign of this.
** Mycroft's casual nudity in front of Mary, something which the servants are so accustomed to that they don't bat an eye, is a lot more shocking when you consider just how much more strict Victorian England was about nudity and proper behavior around women.
* ProperlyParanoid:
** Irene reasonably expects that she might suffer a sudden case of YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness when meeting with Moriarty. She meets him in a crowded restaurant and has her drink switched for a fresh pot. [[spoiler:She wasn't paranoid enough, though, because Moriarty had the entire restaurant in his pocket.]]
** When Watson and Mary depart for the honeymoon (the first time), Watson is clearly suspicious of being ambushed after seeing soldiers loading equipment onto the train.
* RealityEnsues: [[spoiler:What happens when you put Irene up against a guy who is about as smart as Holmes, but with no moral compunctions or feelings for her? He outwits and kills her. That's it.]]
** [[spoiler:The final fight between Holmes and Moriarty starts off with a SherlockScan fight plan, handily exploiting Moriarty's rage over having his entire empire undone... only to be interrupted by Moriarty doing the very same thing. And Holmes realizes it. "Oh come now, you aren't the only one who can play that game..." Both come to the same conclusion, with Moriarty mercilessly whaling on Sherlock's injured shoulder despite Sherlock's best efforts to counter, and eventually tossing him over into the waterfall below. [[TakingYouWithMe "Unless..."]]]]
* RedOniBlueOni: Moriarty is blue. He lives in the dry, respected worlds of academia, politics and business. His servants are {{German|icEfficiency}}s. Holmes, on the other hand, is manic, full of energy, always experimenting and improvising, and spends his time getting into hijinks. He allies himself with a pack of unruly Romani, although that's because Simza's brother has ties to Moriarty.
* RefugeInAudacity: An in-universe example. The car Holmes uses (and the great false beard that he wears) is 'so overt it's covert', especially when Holmes thinks Moriarty has men watching him.
* RevealingCoverup: Moriarty blows up a room full of people to cover up the assassination of an important businessman.
* RunOrDie: After saving Holmes and escaping the tower, Holmes, Watson and the gypsies are forced to flee on foot from the train yard with Moran and his men hot on their heels. Gets worse when when they pull out ''an anti-tank cannon'' to fire on them.
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler: Irene. She is built up to be an extremely intelligent and capable opponent for Holmes in the first movie, bordering on his equal. The second film shows how easily Moriarty has her killed, so her death serves to establish Moriarty as a credible threat (and possibly a superior opponent) to Holmes.]]
* ScryVsScry: Holmes's usual BulletTime battle analysis monologue is interrupted by Moriarty, who is ''also'' capable of this and counters his moves to the point of proving Holmes couldn't win a straight fight. Of course, [[spoiler:Holmes doesn't fight fair. He fights ''smart.'']]
* SelfStitching: There's a brief shot of Watson stitching up his own side after a particularly harrowing chase scene.
* SerialKillingsSpecificTarget: Moriarty bombs an entire hotel full of industrialists in order to obfuscate Moran's murder of one specific delegate.
* ShaggyDogStory: Moriarty's primary plan is to try and start UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. As Moriarty lampshades (and the audience is well aware), Holmes has embarked on a futile endeavor: war will come, whether on Moriarty's schedule or of its own accord. Oddly enough, the first World War did not start between France and Germany, although they played a larger role in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the second one]].
** However, as Moriarty soon learns, stopping the war is not Holmes' objective. His objective is to foil Moriarty, and he quite thoroughly accomplishes that.
* ShoePhone: Moran has a poison dart gun concealed inside his walking-stick, which he uses when he needs to quietly kill someone in public or a crowded place, as first shown when he uses it to kill Dr. Hoffmanstahl after Holmes thwarts the explosion that was originally intended to be used to kill him.
** Rather appropriate for Watson's foil - Watson himself has a sword hidden in ''his'' walking-stick.
* ShotToTheHeart: Holmes invents an epi-pen. [[spoiler:Watson later uses it to revive him after his heart stops from blood loss.]]
* ShoutOut:
** Moriarty plans to [[spoiler:start UsefulNotes/WorldWarI and profit off weapons sales, much like [[Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen the expy of Moriarty]]]].
** Mycroft's ([[spoiler: and Sherlock's]]) oxygen device is basically a steampunk version of the ''Film/JamesBond'' rebreather gadget from ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', continuing the long fanon tradition of him being the head of British Intelligence (a idea that has in [[Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen some cases]] gone as far as to saying he is the originator of the position of '''M'''.)
** Holmes' make-up during the scene on the train to Brighton, blue eyeshadow and smeared red lipstick, mimics The Joker's facepaint from ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. This is especially funny since RDJ plays the title character in ''Film/IronMan'', which has a FandomRivalry with ''Film/TheDarkKnightSaga'' fans.
** The final confrontation between Holmes and Moriarty plays out very similarly to a scene in ''Film/{{Hero}}'': [[spoiler:They have a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind, with both of them using AwesomenessByAnalysis to calculate each other's strategies and the most likely outcome of the fight, similar to how Nameless and Long Sky 'fought' each other.]]
** Watson [[spoiler:uses an adrenaline shot to revive Holmes after his heart stops]], reminiscent of Uma Thurman overdosing and getting revived in ''Film/PulpFiction'' in the same way.
** Moriarty's torture of choice is [[spoiler:[[Film/TheLastKingOfScotland hanging by hooks through the chest]]]].
** Watson quotes ''Theatre/HenryV'': "Once more unto the breach."
** Morricone's theme from ''Film/TwoMulesForSisterSara'' plays when Holmes is riding the pony.
* SkywardScream: A variant is done by Sim, [[spoiler: after her poisoned brother dies in her arms.]]
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Holmes and Moriarty play a game, the winning gambit echoing the events happening elsewhere that the two have set in motion. [[spoiler:They finish up the game without the board entirely, just talking to each other, and Holmes wins, foreshadowing the way they'll fight in their minds.]]
* TheSociopath / {{Narcissist}}: Moriarty, [[BerserkButton much to his chagrin]].
* SoftWater: [[spoiler:Falling hundreds of feet into a lake will not break your fall. At terminal velocity, hitting water would be only slightly better than hitting concrete. However, the water tension is broken by the waterfall; riding the stream down would severely soften the landing of moving water.]]
** [[spoiler:Holmes might have maneuvered Moriarty into hitting the water first.]]
** Played straighter during the train scene. Regardless of how "perfectly timed" it was, Mary came out remarkably unscathed for someone who feel at least fifty feet into a river out of a speeding train.
* SoundtrackDissonance: Moriarty plays (and sings along with) a cheery, innocuous little Schubert tune while [[spoiler: dangling Holmes from the ceiling by a meat hook impaled in his shoulder]]. "Die Forelle" may never be quite the same.
* StolenMacGuffinReveal: [[spoiler:Regarding Moriarty's red notebook.]]
* StringTheory: Holmes constructs a massive string spider-web in Watson's old rooms, with the various threads wrapped around a nail stuck into a photo of Professor Moriarty.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Irene Adler]] is killed off before the opening titles to make it clear how dangerous Moriarty is.
* SwissBankAccount: Heavily implied to be where Moriarty hides his many assets. He claims that he's rather fond of Switzerland, since they know how to respect a man's privacy there, especially when he has a large personal fortune.
* TakeAThirdOption: [[spoiler:Holmes realizes that if he directly fights Moriarty, he'll lose, and he can't escape. Cue blowing soot in his face and invoking TakingYouWithMe.]]
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:To be expected considering the final battle.]]
* TarotTroubles: Holmes takes Sim's Tarot deck and deals out a few cards to go along with his summation of her current predicament before naming his own goal with one final card: The Devil, Moriarty.
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: When Holmes, Watson and Simza flee Moriarty's armed {{Mooks}}. Armed with machine guns, that is. ''Then the cannons come out.''
** Moriarty arranges a [[spoiler:bombing in a banquet hall at the Hotel de Triomphe to conceal the fact that Alfred Meinhard, the head of an arms factory, was in fact shot in the head by Colonel Moran on a rooftop on the other side of the square at the precise moment of the blast]]. This serves to disguise the true perpetrator of the attack while ensuring the target is definitely killed.
* ThrowAwayGuns: Holmes tucks an extra Mauser Broomhandle into his vest in the arms factory. Justified as his shoulder has been severely injured so he doesn't have two hands to reload with.
* TitleDrop: Sorta:
--> '''Holmes:''' Has all my instruction been for naught? You still read the official statement and believe it. It's a ''game'', dear man, a shadowy game.
** Translations of the movie to some other languages (like Spanish, for example) turn the above quote into a more direct TitleDrop.
* TooDumbToLive: Irene gets dangerously close to this in the opening. Despite Holmes hinting that her package [[spoiler:is a bomb, she sits there and lets the doctor open it with only the slightest bit of trepidation (she did try to leave immediately, but he asked her to stay).]] Unless she was expecting Holmes to drop in, this is a serious lapse in judgement for an otherwise very clever woman.
* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler: Irene's handkerchief]], given to him as a [[KickTheDog dog kicking]] by Moriarty. Subverted in that he disposes of it so it wouldn't cloud his thoughts in pursuing Moriarty with the full range of his intellect.
* TranquilFury: Moriarty is in this state throughout the chess match.
** Holmes as well. Particularly evident when Moriarty says he'll go after Watson and Mary merely for sport.
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: [[spoiler:The "woman" on the train is Holmes.]]
* TheTriple
-->'''Holmes:''' We're playing cat and mouse, the Professor and I. {{Cloak and dagger}}.
-->'''Watson:''' I thought it was spider and fly. ''(notes that Holmes is drinking formaldehyde)''
* {{Understatement}}: When Moriarty sends thugs to kill Watson and Mary as they travel to Brighton for their honeymoon, Holmes attempts to empathise by describing the situation as 'terribly inconvenient.' It doesn't quite do their predicament justice.
* TheUnfettered: Moriarty at his core is a genius on the level of Holmes, yet completely lacking in ethics or morals of any kind. He will do anything to achieve his goals and he only allows Holmes to live because he respects him as a fellow genius and doesn't foresee Holmes being a large enough threat to his plans. When Holmes proves otherwise, Moriarty does not hesitate to go after everyone Holmes cares about and makes repeated attempts to kill him, too.
* UpToEleven: Almost every trope in the first film is cranked up in the second.
* UnitConfusion: The 6-8 miles per hour side-wind in which Moran makes his famous shot. That wind speed would barely move the air, let alone a bullet. The conditions portrayed in the flashback and which would make the shot the nigh-superhuman feat it is described as are far more in line with a 6-8 ''meter per second'' wind speed.
* VillainHasAPoint: Moriarty's HannibalLecture about how World War I was inevitable. All he was doing was finding a way to profit off it.
* VillainousBreakdown: Moriarty has a subtle one when he realizes that Holmes [[spoiler:has stolen his ledger, decoded it, and used it to dismantle his whole organization]]. It progresses to a much more direct example as [[spoiler:Moriarty screams his brains out as he plummets to his demise, unlike the composed Holmes. Admittedly he has just had [[EyeScream burning embers thrown in his eyes]] so they could be screams of pain]].
* VillainousFriendship: Colonel Moran and Professor Moriarty. Although Moran is referred to as a gun-for-hire, he is very loyal - at one point he [[spoiler: vows to kill the heroes after digging Moriarty out of the wreckage of a building]] - and the two of them have plans to go to the opera together.
* VillainsOutShopping: Moriarty going to see ''DonGiovanni'', and later feeding pigeons in the park.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Officially, Holmes can't touch Moriarty since he's a world famous mathematician and author, is a personal friend of the English Prime Minister, and has many business and political connections. A great deal of the plot is Holmes trying to obtain the necessary evidence to implicate him. (Ironically, these are often some of the benefits Holmes himself enjoys.)
* WarForFunAndProfit: The foundation of Moriarty's plot. It's actually exactly the same as his plan in ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen''.
* WarIsHell: The chase sequence in Germany seems to evoke this trope, giving a taste of what Moriarty's new weapons would do to Europe.
* WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk: Holmes being interrogated by Moriarty.
* WhamLine: Just before their final confrontation, Holmes starts in with his usual analysis, imagining how the imminent fistfight with Moriarty will go with an internal monologue. At first it looks like Holmes has predicted a method of beating Moriarty before we cut to the man himself and we hear ''his'' internal monologue that reveals he is just as capable of the technique as Sherlock is.
-->'''Moriarty''': ''Come now, did you really think you were the only one capable of playing this game?''
** Immediately, Moriarty begins to gain the upper hand in the imagined conversation between the two men as the fight plays out in both their heads.
** Doubles as a nod to the fact that just then, Moriaty uses a Bartitsu move to reach Holmes's wound, demonstrating he also knows his"game".
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler:Colonel Moran shoots Rene with a curare dart, then leaves the party. As far as the viewer knows, he gets away.]] Instead, he is saved as a SequelHook.
** Also [[spoiler: the Cossack, to the point of bordering Big Lipped Aligator Moment]].
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Moriarty could have avoided so many troubles if he had killed Holmes when he met him at the university instead of sadistically toying with him.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: Holmes, to get in the train. (The original script had him as a priest, as in the original short story, but Downey Jr. asked to change for crossdressing as it was funnier. He also might have been referencing to a Holmes story in which he mentions disguising himself as an old lady.)
* WickedCultured: Moriarty takes this trope to its logical extreme, torturing Holmes while listening to and singing along with Schubert on a phonograph. Moran also says he really wanted to see ''DonGiovanni'' himself.
** Even the {{Mooks}} get in on it, whistling Mozart of all things while ganging up on Holmes in a back alley.
* TheWorfEffect: [[spoiler:Irene Adler dies by Moriarty's hand to show how dangerous he is and to up the stakes with Holmes]].
* WorfHadTheFlu: [[spoiler:In Sherlock's final fight against Moriarty, he deduces in his SherlockScan "pre-fight" that after a good opening attack he would lose because of his injured shoulder from earlier in the movie. This causes him to TakeAThirdOption]].
* WorthyOpponent: Holmes and Moriarty both emphasize the deep respect they have for each other.
** However it's kinda inverted - Holmes himself admits we would be quite happy to beat him.
* WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied: A variation; Moriarty tells Holmes that [[spoiler:Irene Adler]] [[BlatantLies was killed by a rare strain of tuberculosis]], but Holmes is reading between the lines and deduces that Moriarty arranged for her to be poisoned.
** Bear in mind, Moriarty is telling Holmes what the ''police'' think happened.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Moriarty [[spoiler: made the mistake of thinking that Holmes was trying to stop his plans to ignite a world war. As it turns out, Holmes is working against Moriarty, and ONLY him. He knows that he can't stop the plans that Moriarty has set in motion, merely prevent Moriarty from profiting from them, so that's exactly what he does. He doesn't stop the plan, but he does stop his nemesis]].
* YouHaveFailedMe: Moran invokes this when warning German officer commanding Little Hansel's crew. However, even though the good guys escape, we never see what befalls the officer.
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