[7]

Young Holmes meets young Watson in prep school and the two solve a mystery involving an ancient Egyptian cult that is killing members of a secret society and sacrificing virgins in ceremony! Unfortunately, the mystery isn’t very engaging and the characterizations are thin. Young Sherlock Holmes still has enough moments of whimsy to keep me amused. I like the many hallucination scenes and the whole cult subplot. Aside from Freddie Jones in a small role, the casting is less than inspired. Alan Cox’s Watson comes off as annoying more than anything else, and Nicholas Rowe just doesn’t provide enough charisma to the iconic role of Holmes. Bruce Broughton’s score, however, is among the very best of the 80s. Sidenote: The stained glass knight was the first CGI character ever created for film. Directed by Barry Levinson (Rain Man), written by Chris Columbus (Gremlins, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone).

Oscar Nomination: Best Visual Effects