 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Young Sherlock Holmes
- Review Date: April 2, 2009
- PG-13
- Genre: Thriller
- 1985
Common Sense Media says
Exquisite idea, mediocre result, but OK for older kids.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that perils in this young-adult Sherlock Holmes drama
include threats of the heroine being sacrificially turned into an
Egyptian-style mummy, and kids being strangled and run through with swords. There's some potential nightmare imagery for young viewers -- scenes of demonic entities
and rotting zombies; it's made clear that these are only hallucinations, but
the chills are still vividly rendered. Young Watson tries tobacco smoking.
What's the story?
In a boys' school in Victorian-era England, two
students encounter each other who are destined to be illustrious
crimefighting partners in adulthood, the teenage Sherlock Holmes (Nicholas
Rowe), who is already a genius at logical deduction, and the pudgy
adolescent James Watson. Holmes' braininess is renown among the kids and
faculty, but that only makes him an easier target when a resentful
classmate frames Holmes for cheating on an exam. Meanwhile, a number of
aged London men have been dying under weird circumstances, in hysterics
from occultish hallucinations. When this bizarre curse strikes the
school's retired headmaster, Holmes sneaks back onto the grounds and
prowl's London's dark corners to solve the mystery, with Watson's
assistance.
Is it any good?
YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES came out under the auspices of Steven
Spielberg's production company, when other Hollywood directors were
signing on to do Spielberg-like fantasies with the finest possible casts,
imagination, and special effects. The title alone suggested a
can't-miss property. And yet for all the high hopes, Young Sherlock Holmes
unfurls disappointingly, like old Indiana Jones. Yes, there's an elementary
change in scenery and accents, but the cliffhanger stunts, cartoonish
foreigners, black-magic stuff (all the more inconsequential because we
find out it's all delusions), ludicrous temple-of-doom that, just like the
Death Star, comes complete with a convenient self-destruct mode -- it
doesn't take a you-know-who to deduce it was all swiped from other
Lucas-Spielberg 1980s blockbusters.
Scriptwriter Chris Columbus was later
to make the first few Harry Potter movies, and the early school scenes
(complete with a Draco Malfoy-lookalike antagonist) do have a nice flavor
and potential, before the hand-me-down thrill rides and the way-silly
revenge scheme at the center of the mystery take over. Young Sherlock
Holmes not an awful movie; it just should have been so much better. Case
closed.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the idea of Sherlock Holmes as a boy. How well is it
done here? This movie suggests that Holmes' intellect and penchant for
crime-solving backfired -- when he busted his own father for some unspecified
offense. Is being this brilliant a help or a hindrance for a kid? You might
compare Young Sherlock Holmes to other stories that portray youthful
mystery-solvers, including the "Encyclopedia Brown" series, and Eye of the Crow, Death in the Air, and other recent YA novels by
Shane Peacock that try to depict (in far more depth than this film) the
troubled childhood of Conan Doyle's great sleuth.
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AGE
uggh
my mom made the mistake of showing this movie to me (12), and my two brothers (6 and 14). They were both scared. some scenes, like the mummifaction ceremony, are truly disturbing. also, i did not like it when the priest was killed. plus, it wasnt even a good movie. there are much better ones out there. not reccommended
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AGE
My friends child (12) loved this movie! He's very into Sherlock Holmes and enjoyed this movie immensely! I recommend it for boys age 11-14.
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AGE
Excellent prequel to the Sherlock Holmes stories, I thought this was carried out far better than the new Holmes. (Even though I did enjoy the new one.) It is also noticeably more violent than the new one, in spite of it's younger cast; women are sacrificed alive to an evil cult, people go crazy and have nightmares about things coming to life and attacking them, people die rather graphic deaths, etc.
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AGE
Great Movie!
Its a great movie! I would reccomend it only for people that LOVE mystery/scary/adventure movies because this one has it all. The story is great but it may be scary to kids under the age of 11 or 10. Great movie!
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AGE
Perfect Sequel.
This movie was really action packed! It was also REALLY funny as well! I recomend this movie!
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| Studio: | Paramount Pictures |
| Director: | Barry Levinson |
| Cast: | Alan Cox, Nicholas Rowe, Sophie Ward |
| Genre: | Thriller |
| Run time: | 118 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | December 5, 1985 |
| DVD release date: | December 2, 2003 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
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