Review of Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) by Stuart K — 17 Jan 2009

Directed by Barry Levinson, produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Chris Columbus, this film is a loving and enjoyable tribute to Sherlock Holmes in his early years, it harks more to the likes of The Goonies than Arthur Conan Doyle, but who cares?? It's fun in the long term.

The film tells of how young John Watson (Alan Cox) met the charming and eloquant Sherlock Holmes (Nicholas Rowe) at boarding school in London, and how they would solve their very first case. In which an evil Egyptian cult is operating in a London warehouse, where a giant wooden pyramid containing their temple is contained.

This cult have also been knocking off people with poison, giving them delusions which also leads them to killing themselves. With Holmes and Watson in enough trouble as it is at school. :P It's typical 80's fare, and with Spielberg behind the scenes, there's a big emphasis on special effects.

(The stain glass window man was an early credit for one Pixar Animations... ;)) But, it does have good performances from it's young leads, and it is a good imagining of how they met. Would Doyle have approved?? ;).