---
title: "Young Sherlock Holmes: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/young-sherlock-holmes/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/young-sherlock-holmes"
critics_score: 64
critics_reviews: 8
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."
---

# Young Sherlock Holmes (1985): what the critics said

Critics' score 64 from 8 reviews: 2 positive, 5 mixed, 1 negative.

The reviews lean towards qualified approval, with praise clustering around the young leads and the film’s atmosphere. Nicholas Rowe’s Holmes and the Holmes–Watson pairing earn favourable notices, while the production design helps sell this imagined early adventure. The more enthusiastic responses value its affection for the Holmes stories and its willingness to make a family adventure dark. Eye for Film particularly praises Bruce Broughton’s gothic score and argues that the film deserves greater recognition.

Reservations concern familiarity, uneven action direction and how far the spectacle pulls the film away from traditional Holmes territory. Empire enjoys the hallucinatory effects but finds the direction less assured once the action begins. Variety offers the sharpest dissent, praising the young performers while finding that visual effects take priority over artistry. The spread is wide, though three entries lack accessible verdicts, limiting how confidently their positions can be described.

## Slant Magazine — Josh Vasquez

Rating 3/4. 3 December 2003. 

Vasquez finds the film an affectionate, largely successful attempt to honor the Sherlock Holmes legend. He praises Nicholas Rowe’s performance and the restrained handling of young Holmes’s first love, while noting the film borrows from Indiana Jones.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/young-sherlock-holmes/)

## Empire — Olly Richards

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 2 March 2006. 

Richards finds it entertaining but familiar, with direction that falters once the action begins. He praises the young leads’ pairing and the dazzling effects that bring the hallucinatory scenes to life.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/young-sherlock-holmes-review/)

## The New York Times — Janet Maslin

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 4 December 1985. 

The page content is inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict and specific praise or criticism cannot be verified. The available page information identifies a New York Times film article about the matching 1985 title.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/04/movies/film-young-sherlock-spielberg-presentation.html)

## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 

The review text was inaccessible, so its verdict cannot be established. No specific praise or complaint could be verified.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/young-sherlock-holmes-1985)

## Time Out — RR

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 

The available metadata identifies this as a review but does not reveal the critic’s verdict. Its standfirst frames Holmes’s apocryphal early life as the peg for an adventure, but cuts off before offering specific praise or complaint.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/young-sherlock-holmes)

## Radio Times — Tom Hutchinson

Rating 3/5. 

Hutchinson finds the young Holmes-and-Watson origin story commendable, though some Holmes aficionados may miss the traditional atmosphere. He praises the production design as fabulous.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-cliwha/young-sherlock-holmes/)

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1984. 

The review finds the film commercially effective but not artistic. It praises the young leads’ performances while faulting the production’s emphasis on visual effects.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1984/film/reviews/young-sherlock-holmes-1200426360/)

## Eye for Film — Gator MacReady

Fi1m's normalised score 88/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2005. 

MacReady gives the film an enthusiastic endorsement, arguing it deserves greater recognition as a dark, imaginative family adventure. He particularly praises Bruce Broughton’s gothic score and the film’s atmospheric production values.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/young-sherlock-holmes-film-review-by-gator-macready)

---
© 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/young-sherlock-holmes.md