--- title: "Sherlock Jr.: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/sherlock-jr/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/sherlock-jr" critics_score: 80 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Sherlock Jr. (1924): what the critics said Critics' score 80 from 11 reviews: 10 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics greet Sherlock Jr. with strong enthusiasm, praising Keaton’s physical precision and the ingenuity of its filmmaking. The praise clusters around the dream sequence, where a projectionist enters the screen and must adjust to rapidly changing locations. Reviews find both comic pleasure and an exploration of cinematic illusion in its editing and trick photography. Keaton’s stunt work, command of movement and stillness, and carefully timed gags draw similarly broad approval. The spread is wide, but the disagreement is concentrated in one review. Variety dismisses most of the comedy as tired and finds the chases wanting, while still admiring the passage into the projected film. Elsewhere, reservations are narrower: /Film finds the narrative somewhat patchwork, without losing enthusiasm for the result. The Guardian’s qualified response concerns an added REM soundtrack more than the original film. The consensus is firmly positive, with technical invention the clearest point of agreement. ## Empire — David Parkinson Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 June 2006. Buster Keaton's third and shortest feature ranks among his best as an ironic study of fantasy and reality, life and art, and a film about film. The critic singles out the dream sequence's masterclass in comic montage and technical assurance for praise. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/sherlock-jr-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 2009. Turan calls Sherlock Jr. one of the most sublime comedies of all time, highlighting Keaton's mastery of movement and stillness in a style that is as intellectual as it is physical. The review singles out the film's demonstration of why Keaton is a purely American film genius. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-dec-31-la-et-kenny31-2009dec31-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 November 2002. Ebert hails Buster Keaton as the greatest silent clown for his unmatched courage and physical daring in films like Sherlock Jr., where he faces extraordinary risks with grace under pressure. The review singles out Keaton's inventive physical comedy and optimistic determination amid chaos as standout elements. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-films-of-buster-keaton) ## Slant Magazine — Bill Weber Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 December 2010. It calls Sherlock Jr. a clockwork tour de force and perhaps Keaton’s most delightful creation, praising its playful structure, eye-popping gags, and confirmation of the filmmaker’s maturing craft in a lean 45-minute package. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/sherlock-jr-three-ages/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Thomas Doherty Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 August 2024. The piece celebrates the film's ingenious gags, trick photography, and stunt work while highlighting its meta exploration of how audiences engage with screen imagery as a prescient meditation on imagination and media. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/buster-keaton-sherlock-jr-history-1235985615/) ## Time Out — TM Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 November 2014. Keaton's third feature is an incredible technical accomplishment and an almost Pirandellian exploration of cinematic reality. The projectionist daydreams himself into the screen, where rapid montage creates perils; the timing in the chase sequence is a technical marvel. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/sherlock-jr) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 December 1991. Festival review. The piece celebrates the film's most beatifically funny and deranged sequence, in which Keaton's projectionist enters the onscreen world and copes with rapidly shifting locations. It praises the surreal, logical adjustments Keaton makes to the changing cinematic laws as a highlight of silent comedy. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/27/movies/critic-s-notebook-deadpan-buster-in-a-crazy-world.html) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 12 February 1993. A package of 70-year-old Buster Keaton films including Sherlock Jr provides the keenest pleasures in a reissue with new soundtracks. The critic highlights the famous climax of the lovelorn projectionist entering the movie and the film's celebration of the medium's sleight of hand and illusion. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-comedies-off-the-shelf-1472490.html) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 4 February 2026. The critic finds that pairing Buster Keaton’s 1924 comedy with an REM soundtrack brings little enhancement to the original but could draw fresh audiences to the silent classic. They single out the film’s innovative meta structure, in which a projectionist dreams himself into the movie he is screening. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/feb/04/rem-x-buster-keatons-sherlock-jr-review-classic-comedy-gets-new-alt-rock-soundtrack) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 1924. The review deems the Buster Keaton feature-length comedy about as unfunny as a hospital operating room, criticizing the reliance on old hoke, chases that pale next to Harold Lloyd, and most gags as bunk. It singles out only the clever dream sequence where Keaton walks into the projected film as worthy of comment. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1923/film/reviews/sherlock-jr-1200409471/) ## /Film — Shae Sennett Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 11 February 2024. The critic ranks Sherlock Jr. highly (#2) among Keaton's features for its meta exploration of early cinema and memorable gags, such as the comically close pursuit and the dream sequence in which the projectionist enters the film world. Despite a somewhat hodgepodge narrative combining two concepts, the resolution is gratifying and the blend of murder mystery with meta-cinema earns it strong praise. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1514107/buster-keaton-movies-ranked/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/sherlock-jr.md