Sherlock Holmes has been a famous character for well over 100 years and he's been featured in many movies.  After loving Sherlock Holmes, I have started to watch other movies with the character.  I recently added a three movie collection to my DVD collection and Without a Clue is one of the movies in that collection.

Sherlock Holmes is known in London as a brilliant detective and he frequently helps Scotland Yard with various cases.  Dr. John Watson serves as his assistant and writes stories based on the cases.  What people don't know is that Watson is the one who actually solves the cases and Holmes is just a character he invented.  Watson hired the bumbling, drunk out of work actor Reginald Kincaid to play the part of Holmes for the public.  

After finishing a case, Watson is upset with how Reginald did a few things.  The disagreement continues even once they are back at 221B Baker Street until Watson gets so fed up that he kicks Reginald out.  Watson decides that he will work alone and even tell the public that Sherlock Holmes isn't real.  Unfortunately his publisher thinks that is a horrible idea and no one seems interested in having Watson investigate anything.  He is forced to get Reginald back when the British government wants Holmes to investigate a theft and kidnaping.  Reginald is forced to try to deal with things on his own when Watson disappears not long after they discover that Professor Moriarty is involved.

Without a Clue has an original story for the plot.  The characters of Sherlock and Dr. Watson are based on the characters created by Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle, though they have been twisted a bit and mostly trade roles.  Based on the few stories that I've read, Watson in this movie is more like Holmes from the stories, though without his flaws.  Changing the characters in this way allows the movie to be more original than others featuring Holmes.  

The truth about Sherlock comes out within the first few minutes of Without a Clue.  Sherlock and Watson are finishing up an investigation and Sherlock says something that really upsets Watson, though he waits until everyone else is gone before saying anything.  That quickly sets up the situation of Watson being the one who actually solves the crimes while Sherlock is just a character played by an actor.  Complications are added by the fact that Watson and Reginald don't have the best relationship.  The plot is very enjoyable and interesting.  

Reginald/Sherlock and Watson are shown finishing up a case when Without a Clue begins.  Not long after that, a new case turns up involving a kidnaping and theft.  The mystery is interesting, though it could have been a bit stronger.  Things get more interesting when Reginald is forced to act like Sherlock without Watson's help.  There is a bit of suspense in a few scenes without the movie being that suspenseful overall.  A decent amount of humor turns up throughout the movie, usually from how Reginald bumbles through just about every situation he ends up in.  Watson's reactions to Reginald are also funny.  This movie is a bit more light hearted overall than the other movies I've seen with the characters so far.  A few scenes do have a little bit of action without there really being much violence.  The movie is rated PG, so there really isn't anything offensive in it.  Sherlock's drug use that has come up in some of the other movies as well as the stories is never mentioned.  Some scenes do move a tad slower, but it isn't so slow that things become boring.  

Watson and Sherlock/Reginald serve as the main characters in Without a Clue.  Their working relationship is very important to what is going on and it does add an interesting dynamic to what is going on that is different from the other movies with the characters that I've seen.  I do like how the roles are sort of reversed.  I say sort of because I haven't seen any movies that portrayed Watson anywhere close to how Sherlock/Reginald is portrayed in this one.  In the movies that I have seen, Watson has clearly been the assistant, he defers to Holmes, and he can't figure things out like Holmes.  However, Watson also hasn't been portrayed as a bumbling, fumbling, moronic idiot.  I have read about some of the movies that I haven't seen yet, and it does seem like in some of them Watson was made out to be more of an idiot.  Having Sherlock/Reginald be such an incompetent idiot does add some entertaining moments.  I think the story still would have worked without making Reginald such a complete bumbling fool.

Dr. Watson is a very intelligent man who is very observant and able to help with various investigations.  He invented Sherlock and eventually become annoyed with him.  When he tried to stop using Sherlock and solve crimes alone, he found that no one was interested.  Ben Kingsley is really good in the part.  Reginald Kincaid is the out of work actor hired to be Sherlock.  Reginald is very convincing as Sherlock, though he does have some bad habits that cause problems at times.  Michael Caine is great in the part.

Mrs. Hudson turns up in a few scenes and is the only other person who knows the truth about Reginald/Sherlock.  She is frequently annoyed with Reginald, though she does end up helping him later in the movie.  Pat Keen does fine with the part.  Inspector Lestrade works with Holmes on some investigations.  Lestrade seems to have some issues with Holmes and he tries really hard to solve the case first.  Jeffrey Jones is good in the part even though he really doesn't have a lot to do.  Professor Moriarty is in a few scenes, though Paul Freeman doesn't have a lot to do since the character isn't around a lot.  Lysette Anthony turns up briefly in a few scenes.

Main Cast

Michael Caine - Reginald Kincaid/Sherlock Holmes
Paul Freeman - Professor Moriarty
Jeffrey Jones - Inspector Lestrade
Pat Keen - Mrs. Hudson
Ben Kingsley - Dr. Watson     

Thom Eberhardt - Director

DVD Information

My copy of Without a Clue is part of a three movie set that also includes The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.  My copy of the movie has the full screen version and there aren't any extras.  I think the movie is also available by itself, though I don't know for sure.

Without a Clue is a fun, entertaining spin on Sherlock Holmes.  It is a bit sillier than other movies featuring the character, but it is definitely worth watching.  Fans of the character or the cast will probably find something to like about the movie.

This review is part of CaptainD's Good Movies EpiGuide 3 Write Off. 

Sherlock Holmes Movie Reviews
The Great Mouse Detective ~ The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) ~ The Hound of the Baskervilles (2000) ~ The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes ~ Sherlock Holmes ~ Young Sherlock Holmes ~

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD