moonspinner55 Review of Young Sherlock Holmes

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

Ahead of its time perhaps, but so overcooked it self-destructs...

[3/10 · 4 January 2007]

Long before the "Harry Potter" books and movies arrived, this somewhat similar concoction from producer Steven Spielberg and director Barry Levinson came and went in theaters. The film, certainly full of imaginative talents, has the general core of a good idea, but the focus of the project apparently got away from Levinson--and everyone else with discernible judgment. It's an overcooked fantasy imagining a youthful friendship between a juvenile Sherlock Holmes and an equally green Dr. Watson. Effects-laden mess also echoes the "Indiana Jones" series, but without strong or charismatic performers and screen writing, the picture deflates rather early. The tag at the film's finish suggests there might have been a sequel had this installment been a hit--alas, it was not. *1/2 from ****