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Rating:  - !!
I only watched this movie a couple of days ago, but I'm already in love with it! The acting was great, only Potter... er, I mean Watson, was extremely annoying. I kept being reminded of Harry Potter all the time!! The chemistry teacher was like a Proffesor Binns, and Dudley (!) was like a mini Malfoy. It's extremely hard to believe that the two movies (or the movie and book) are completely unrelated! Anyways, I thought that the movie is very "misunderestimated" nowadays, and I'm extremely disappointed that there's no fansites of the actors or anything... I mean, they're all so good, Nicholas Rowe especially! The music was fantastic. If only I could get my hands on the soundtrack... and it's out on DVD!! Go watch it, you'll never regret it!!
Rating:  - Fun film that has aged well. (But NOT for all ages)
Fans of Harry Potter should check out this Victoriana fantasy ; in style and tone, they have much in common. They share the classic English boarding school setting, and are filled with magic and monsters, jaw-dropping sets, and wonderfully crusty and unusual British personalities.
Chris Columbus, who helmed the first two Harry Potter movies, wrote the script for this bouncy marriage of a Sherlock Holmes detection story and an Indiana Jones-style cliffhangers. This odd combination received a lot of criticism when the film was first released, but ultimately the mixture of a Victorian detective story and an ancient Egyptian cult is charming and a lot of fun.
Nicholas Rowe is perfect as the snotty, elegant young Sherlock Holmes, and Sophie Ward is absolutely radiant as his romantic interest. Alan Cox as Watson (a dead-ringer for Daniel Radcliffe who plays Harry Potter) is less effective, but tolerable. The effects were groundbreaking in their time, featuring the first computer-generated characters -- animated by Pixar before they became a household word -- and still hold up nicely. They actually have more charm than most modern CGI effects. The film does suffer from slow patches and a premise that could have been pushed even further, but this is still a good family film and most older kids and adults interested in special effects should enjoy it. (Be warned, however: younger children may find parts too frightening.)
Sadly, as far as extras goes, the DVD is "Elementary, my dear Watson": nothing, not even a trailer. That's a shame, since many special effects breaththroughs were made on this movies, such as the computer animated stained-glass window character, and early work from Pixar (yes, Pixar!)
P.S.: Make sure you watch all the way through the end credits for the quick bonus scene.
Rating: - Interesting
I'll readily admit, here and now, hand on heart; I have never picked up a Sherlock Holmes book, never mind read one! I can tell you what I know about this: the author is Arthur Conan Doyle, and the names of the main characters are Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. That will get me far in a general knowledge quiz. Apart from that, I know nothing, and have no interest in the books. (Although, there is a Sherlock Holmes book based around the Titanic disaster by William B. Seil , and I want that!) So why did I watch this film? Arm pushed up behind my back; I was forced to watch it. OK, seriously, I was given it to watch, and I could have put off watching it, but I guess I was curious.
And to my utter horror, I actually found myself enjoying it! Not enough to go out and start reading the books though. But from a novice's point of view, to know nothing about the books, and to enjoy the film on its own, without having read the books, is quite good. When you've read the book and go to see the film based on the book (or vice versa), you end up liking one or the other. I wouldn't necessarily go out and buy the books, or borrow one from the library. But I really did like the film. And I wasn't expecting to!
The only thing that annoyed me about the film was the period of time it was set in. I know that's when it was supposed to be set, but the whole Victorian era just annoys me. The fashion, the little boys dressed up like old men, and the stupid way of talking.
I loved the characters. The little Harry Potter lookalike (Alan Cox) who played Watson, Sophie Ward who played Elizabeth was beautiful, and Sherlock (Nicholas Rowe) - well, I couldn't really see it, until he put on that stupid coat, hat and put the pipe in his mouth in the last few scenes.
It was also quite interesting to find out how the young Sherlock came across the items you would normally associate with Sherlock Holmes from the books. The daft-looking hat was from Elizabeth's uncle; the pipe is when Watson had to buy something in a shop; and the coat/cloak thing . . . Watch the film for yourself and find out.
Directed by the wonderful director who did Rain Man, Barry Levinson couldn't quite live up to Rain Man, but has done a brilliant job. The (young) stars shine in this.
If you're not a fan of Sherlock Holmes, don't worry. Look at me! Never read a book, and found myself enjoying it like any other film. Not really that much of a Christmas-y movie, until the end - apart from the snow on the ground of course!
Rating: - A great tribute to the origins of Doyle's master detective.
This movie has been repeatedly underrated since it came out in 1985 and for no good reason. It has strong writing, directing, acting and setting, and a balanced dose of mystery, fantasy, reality and adventure.
Sherlock Holmes, a young man still in school, faces a mystery that involves an old religious cult that may be responsible for the recent, strange murders taking place in London. Watson is the narrator of the story. He has just arrived at Sherlock's school, and fascinated by the charm, intelligence and wit of his soon to be good friend, follows him along on his adventure. Poisoned darts, DaVinci-like experiments, mysterious acquaintances, seemingly unexplained events, and ghosts from the past make an appearance and very soon "the game is afoot".
It has a solid script that combines the mundane environment and events of high school with an interesting mystery/adventure plot penned by Chris Colombus in the well-known Conan Doyle style. It has equally solid main characters that not only accurately portray younger versions of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, but also behave believably and in accord to the books written by Conan Doyle.
The realistically reproduced sets and costumes (you will even get to see the iconic cape, hat and pipe) and the speculative twists on the origins of the characters make this movie more than just enjoyable and entertaining, it makes it as charming as Holmes and Watson's personalities.
If you are a Sherlock Holmes fan or simply enjoy an old-fashioned, well-crafted, surprising mystery, buy this movie. You won't be disappointed.
--Reviewed by Maritza Volmar
Rating: - A very sweet Sherlock Holmes
The sequence where the stained glass window figure becomes alive was terribly innovative at the time, and remains artistically very satisfying today.
I often find many of Spielberg's productions would make wonderful silent movies, whether or not the dialogs are any good. The dialogs ARE interesting in this picture, but also there are so many moments that are pure film, when you can just follow everything without the need for any words.
It's thoroughly enjoyable and I give it five stars, although I saw many flaws in it when I first watched it as a child and my objections remain valid. Sherlock isn't remotely interested in his "love interest". This girl is an impossibility in an all boy's school in the Victorian Era, anyway. But if one where to let oneself get carried away by suspension of disbelief (which I find difficult in this instance) it would still remain impossible that this - by the way, extremely - pretty girl has only two (yes, that is 2) rivals to her affection in that whole school full of pubescent boys! There is this scene when they are in the library and Sherlock actually moves to kiss her, and this is not looked upon with either scandal or envy. I'm sorry, but that would not do at all in real life, not in those days anyway.
Also, at that age I already knew that one had to be thoroughly dead and devoid of any internal organs in order to be mummified, so several of the scenes were outrageously implausible to me even then.
The movie has hardly aged, though, and remains one of my personal favorites.
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