Review of Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) by Catherine S — 23 May 2012

Young Sherlock Holmes is a fun adventure from the mind of Steven Spielberg, though it's one of those movies that you need to give up any prior knowledge of Sherlock Holmes to properly enjoy.

VERY loosely inspired by the original stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Young Sherlock Holmes covers the original meeting of a school age John Watson and Sherlock Holmes as well as their first adventure. After the mysterious deaths of several elderly men and his professor, Holmes and Watson investigate and end up uncovering a plot of revenge, deception, and mysterious hallucinogenic thorns.

Before you watch this movie, pretend like you've never seen or read any Sherlock Holmes stories (some of you may not have to) or at least pretend like you barely know anything about the mythos and backstory to the characters. Then, you'll probably really like Young Sherlock Holmes. The movie commits what would be considered sins for a Sherlock Holmes adaption, using elements never used in the actual stories as well as lines long since debunked. However, that's not important for this movie. It's fun to watch, definitely. The mystery isn't close to Holmes material, but it's nonetheless a joy to watch. Nicholas Rowe's Sherlock is well acted and Alan Cox is great as Watson, despite the fact that Watson gets a little grating after a while. Something I will note that I liked is the idea of none of the actors being well known. Unlike the most recent Sherlock Holmes adaption, I'm not being distracted by the idea of Iron Man playing Sherlock Holmes.

Really, the movie suffers from the person who produced the film, Steven Spielberg. The film stinks of Spielberg with its forced whimsy. That hurt the movie for me. Also, the soundtrack didn't always fit the situation. But other times, it worked especially with the fight sequences.

This is a great way for kids ages 10 to 12 to be introduced to Sherlock Holmes. Others may enjoy this film, but it's hard to say. I think fans of Sherlock Holmes may have more problems with this film like I did. But it's still a fun film. (Real Rating: 84%).