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"The adventure of a lifetime, Watson."
Young Sherlock Holmes, if nothing else, proves that you can make a clever, entertaining movie out of "just" an origin story. So, take that, the makers of Santa Claus: The Movie.
"Holmes, remember what I always taught you: control your emotions or they will be your downfall."
Like with Santa Claus: The Movie, Holmes includes a decent amount of "this is how this happened" moments. We see Holmes and Watson become friends, we see Holmes explain it all, we see what leads Holmes to live his adult life as a single man. I liked Rowe and Ward together and especially liked that Columbus didn't push too hard in depicting Holmes and Elizabeth's relationship. As well as she can for the times, Elizabeth seems to give as good as she gets and Holmes seems to be attracted to her for more reasons than her beauty. The care taken made the difference and I think gave the ending its poignancy.
While there may be Sherlock Holmes stories told until the end of time, Young Sherlock Holmes was a one-and-done. More's the pity. I found the movie charming, with likable actors and an interesting story. Perhaps it just needed to stand on its own a little more? I guess that's a riddle Holmes could ask Watson: How do you make a Sherlock Holmes story without "Sherlock Holmes"? After all, Watson did end up getting the bear riddle solved. Maybe Columbus, Spielberg, et. al would have similar luck in time. Alas.
"Amazing, Holmes. Simply amazing. Of course, you did forget one very important clue."
Watson (Alan Cox) is the newest student at Brompton, a London boarding school whose young men include Holmes (Nicholas Rowe). Already an expert at deductive reasoning, Holmes has a girlfriend, lovely Elizabeth (Sophie Ward), mentors including expert fencer Professor Rathe (Anthony Higgins) and Elizabeth's flight-fixated uncle, Waxflatter (Nigel Stock), a reluctant law enforcement contact, Lestrade (Roger Ashton-Griffiths) and a rival, Dudley (Earl Rhodes). It's "the height of the Victorian era," according to the narrating Older Watson (Michael Hordern), but Holmes' mystery concerns Egypt.
Directed by Barry Levinson from a Chris Columbus script, Holmes sorta gets to have its cake and eat it, too. On the one hand, a cult that sacrifices English girls inside a giant manmade pyramid isn't going to win the movie any cultural sensitivity awards (contemporary critics also noted the similarities with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). On the other hand, the followers of Ehtar -- including a serial killer -- are acting to avenge insensitivity and violence against a long ago village. In the end, I didn't find Holmes to be especially racist, but acknowledge that it might be problematic for a 2020 audience.
A Steven Spielberg production, Holmes is a visually appealing movie, with interesting art direction and some of the finest effects Industrial Light & Magic and the team at the just-about-to-be-independent Pixar could offer at the time. While some have aged not so great, like the pastries a drugged Watson imagines are trying to force themselves into his body**, others have stood the test of time. Looking at you, Stained Glass Knight. Not only can you lead a reverend to his doom, you can also take a bow.
**I think they'd be more at home in Better Off Dead ...
"Holmes, remember what I always taught you: control your emotions or they will be your downfall."
Like with Santa Claus: The Movie, Holmes includes a decent amount of "this is how this happened" moments. We see Holmes and Watson become friends, we see Holmes explain it all, we see what leads Holmes to live his adult life as a single man. I liked Rowe and Ward together and especially liked that Columbus didn't push too hard in depicting Holmes and Elizabeth's relationship. As well as she can for the times, Elizabeth seems to give as good as she gets and Holmes seems to be attracted to her for more reasons than her beauty. The care taken made the difference and I think gave the ending its poignancy.
While there may be Sherlock Holmes stories told until the end of time, Young Sherlock Holmes was a one-and-done. More's the pity. I found the movie charming, with likable actors and an interesting story. Perhaps it just needed to stand on its own a little more? I guess that's a riddle Holmes could ask Watson: How do you make a Sherlock Holmes story without "Sherlock Holmes"? After all, Watson did end up getting the bear riddle solved. Maybe Columbus, Spielberg, et. al would have similar luck in time. Alas.
"Amazing, Holmes. Simply amazing. Of course, you did forget one very important clue."
"Oh? Please enlighten me."
[The clue is given. For some reason, I can't designate a spoiler in a post.]
"Very clever, Watson. Well, I'm certain I would have arrived at that conclusion sooner or later."
"Sooner or later."
Recommended.
Thoughts:
-- "The game is afoot."
-- Box Office: Grossing $19.7 million on an $18 million budget, this opened at No. 5 and came in at No. 46 for 1985.
-- Critic's Corner, Holmes: "One of the few really stylish and entertaining American movies of 1985," Vincent Canby declared. While Rowe, Cox and Ward received good notices, Paul Attanasio conceded that the movie is "neither an actor's nor a director's piece, but a writer's, and something of a triumph for Columbus." Sean O'Neal, comparing and contrasting Holmes to the Harry Potter series in 2018, wrote that while the former lacks complexity, "it offers the same immersive, propulsive enjoyment, all while putting its own spin on the Sherlock mythos."
Recommended.
Thoughts:
-- "The game is afoot."
-- Box Office: Grossing $19.7 million on an $18 million budget, this opened at No. 5 and came in at No. 46 for 1985.
-- Critic's Corner, Holmes: "One of the few really stylish and entertaining American movies of 1985," Vincent Canby declared. While Rowe, Cox and Ward received good notices, Paul Attanasio conceded that the movie is "neither an actor's nor a director's piece, but a writer's, and something of a triumph for Columbus." Sean O'Neal, comparing and contrasting Holmes to the Harry Potter series in 2018, wrote that while the former lacks complexity, "it offers the same immersive, propulsive enjoyment, all while putting its own spin on the Sherlock mythos."
-- Critic's Corner, Holmes' producer: "The latest product off the Spielberg assembly line," Attanasio wrote, "and bears its machine-marks." Variety: "It's not art, but (Spielberg's movies, whether director or producer) all serve their purpose and sell by the millions." David Denby, however, felt Spielberg was having an homogenizing effect on his contemporaries. "One after another, these young directors, awed by Spielberg's showmanship, sacrifice their own innocence in the temple of doom."
-- Awards Watch: An Oscar nominee for Best Visual Effects, this lost to Cocoon. Saturn nominated for Best Fantasy Film and Best Writing (losing to Ladyhawke and Fright Night, respectively), this won for Bruce Broughton's score. Finally, Holmes was a Young Artist Award nominee in the Fantasy or Comedy division, but lost to The Dirt Bike Kid.
-- "Someday we'll be reunited. In another world, a much better world." "I'll be waiting. And you'll be late, as always."
-- Awards Watch: An Oscar nominee for Best Visual Effects, this lost to Cocoon. Saturn nominated for Best Fantasy Film and Best Writing (losing to Ladyhawke and Fright Night, respectively), this won for Bruce Broughton's score. Finally, Holmes was a Young Artist Award nominee in the Fantasy or Comedy division, but lost to The Dirt Bike Kid.
-- "Someday we'll be reunited. In another world, a much better world." "I'll be waiting. And you'll be late, as always."
-- Next: Clue and The Jewel of the Nile. On deck: Out of Africa and The Color Purple. Coming soon: Brazil.
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