Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) * * 1/2

Directed by:  Barry Levinson

Starring:  Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cox, Sophie Ward, Anthony Higgins, Freddie Jones, Nigel Stock

Young Sherlock Holmes is a lightweight whodunit in which the basic Sherlock Holmes elements are in place.     The only difference is Sherlock Holmes (Rowe) and John Watson (Cox) are teenagers who meet in a London boarding school and are thrust into investigating a series of bizarre incidents.      If you consider how observant Holmes is, even back then, it is a wonder he isn't able to wrap up any case within 15 minutes.     He is so astute he can see a tiny amount of powder on the ground and determine that it comes from a rare exotic plant that he once saw in someone's office.      Think of the all of the unsolved mysteries that would be solved if Holmes were around today.

Holmes takes it upon itself to look into two seemingly unrelated events which were ruled as suicides by the laziest police detective in London.      Both events involved alumni of the school Holmes attends and both involved strange actions and hallucinations right before allegedly killing themselves.     Holmes smells a rat and investigates further.     His help is not welcomed by the detective, but such matters do not concern Holmes.

Along for the ride besides Watson is Holmes' girlfriend, Elizabeth (Ward), a fetching beauty whose function will inevitably to be put in grave danger by the villains.     Holmes' investigation leads him to a cult that follows ancient Egyptian rituals such as mummification of teenage girls who were recently reported missing.      I don't know what thrill they get out of this practice and I'm sure I don't want to know.     But the set design, music, and costumes are all reminiscent of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).    No wonder.   Steven Spielberg served as executive producer of Young Sherlock Holmes.

The movie is directed by Barry Levinson, but it has Spielberg's fingerprints all over it, from the visual effects (which are dated) to the whimsical musical score.     There are even early versions of an airplane flying around, which Holmes naturally will soon find himself flying as well.     The tall, lanky Nicholas Rowe is proper, astute, and appropriately cerebral as Holmes.      Watson is shorter, stockier, and not quite as cerebral as his friend, but he is appropriately worshipful of Holmes.    We see the genesis of the relationship fostered in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novels and many movies, including the most recent incarnations starring Robert Downey, Jr.

There is even a disclaimer before the ending credits calling Young Sherlock Holmes a "fanciful speculation" into how Holmes and Watson met.     It seems Doyle did not cover this in his many Sherlock Holmes works, but does it really even matter?     Anymore, we are inundated with sequels and prequels and prequels of prequels.      We get to see backstories where none are required.     They are just one more clever way to cash in on a franchise.      Young Sherlock Holmes is light, marginally interesting and somewhat fun, but altogether unnecessary.     It is just another repackaged Sherlock Holmes story when all is said and done.     Although this Holmes doesn't engage in bareknuckle fighting like Downey's Holmes, but he is still a decent fencer.