Young Sherlock Holmes...

There are many crusades I have taken up in my life. Some of which are movie-oriented (but many still aren't - more to come on that subject).

Basically what this means is that I am always trying to get the uninitiated involved in a movie that should be beloved by all but isn't. More often than not, my crusade crosses boundaries. Meaning that the object of my affection can be traced back to some other media format such as a novel or a comic book. At this point I feel that there is almost no excuse that you haven't heard about it or witnessed it before. Thus a simple mission becomes a crusade. 

When it comes to my movie-crusade amalgamation there are a key top few that come to mind. But one most of all. Probably because it hits on all cylinders. It's a movie that should have been a massive success and an instant classic but yet never found the audience it deserves. The Princess Bride is a perfect example of a movie that should have been an immediate hit, but wasn't. However, thanks to time it has now been granted the prestige it should have had from the start. Yet some movies never get that second chance.

This is the story about one of them.

Imagine a movie directed by Barry Levinson. A man who has been behind the camera of such great flicks as the Natural, Rain Man, Good Morning Vietnam, Wag the Dog, Sphere, Bandits, and much, much more.

A movie written by Chris Columbus (no, not the explorer). The writer behind Gremlins and the Goonies. Who later went on to become a director in his own right of such hits as Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Adventures in Babysitting. He's also the man who launched the Harry Potter series, directing the first two installments.

Now imagine that this movie was produced by Steven Spielberg. A movie that also happened to contain the first CGI shots ever put to film.

CGI, bitch!

Do you begin to see my frustration?

The movie is of course, Young Sherlock Holmes!

You should have seen this movie...or at least heard about it.

It has everything! Action, adventure, mystery, romance, etc.

The story is basically told through the eyes of an elder Watson looking back on his first adventure with Sherlock Holmes. What begins as a schoolyard murder mystery ends with conspiracy, ritualistic sacrifices, murder and mayhem. Along the way there's an Egyptian cult to defeat with the lives of innocents and the protagonists hanging (literally) in the balance. The score is EPIC and carries us along through the rooftops of London to the tragedy of the ones we fail to save. Moriarty even get's involved.

I dare you to listen to 30 seconds of that score above and NOT be interested in watching this flick. Sometimes, that's all that's needed to propel a great movie into the realm of phenomenal...into the waiting arms of Ricky Bobby.

Not enough? OK...CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

Did you watch that?

Are you sure?

You really should...FYI. If only to get a handle on the situation that I'm presenting.

Maybe now you can catch a glimpse of the anguish that has become the first brick laid down upon the road of this gnarly and wholly unnatural crusade I have wrought upon myself. People should have seen this movie in droves!

But there is a culprit here as to why I believe they didn't. Or at least, it's my theory that the reason you aren't familiar with this masterpiece is partially because of the title.

The title contains the name Sherlock Holmes. I believe that until recently this has been a stigma against many great stories, series, and movies.

Thanks to the wonderful Sherlock Holmes movie from 2009 starring Robert Downey Jr., the character has been brought blasting forth into the mainstream. Many people felt this was a new and different take on the character.

Well...I've read every single Sherlock Holmes story ever written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and while I loved the 2009 film, I was frustrated because everyone seemed to think it was a whole new spin on Sherlock Holmes.

It wasn't.

And that's the problem. Everyone seems to see Sherlock as just this bookish, boorish, annoying fellow in a bizarre hat and cloak smoking a pipe with a drug problem. The reality is that Sherlock Holmes is a BADASS. He's an accomplished swordsman and boxer. He's the world's first fully functional crimefighter. Sure the stories don't always focus on his physical prowess, but still it's almost always implied.

For God sake's he was Batman before there was Batman. He's one of the world's first action heroes!!!

So when I see Sherlock Holmes I read BADASS, the world on a whole reads PRISSY.

Sorry, but that just ain't so. And this is why I will continue to pick up the flag for Young Sherlock Holmes and crusade for this forgotten movie that we all should know and love.

Watch it today...and treat the next generation. In fact, I think it's actually complimentary to the Robert Downey Jr. movie. But maybe that's just me. Check it out.