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Perfect cast and a good story

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

With a film like this made in 1924, you have to wonder why some of the creative effects Buster Keaton developed for this story have never been seen since. They may be out there, but I've never seen anything before like his stroll right into a movie screen to take part in the story that he's projecting for an audience in a theater. He then pratfalls his way through a number of scene changes, remaining in one spot while the action around him hurriedly continues apace. One of the best bits had him nosedive through an open window and into a woman's dress for a stunning visual effect. The question on the tip of your tongue will be 'How did he do that?', or alternatively, 'How can anyone do something like that'?' Another thing I found interesting as a cinema fan was the choice of movie posters one can see as advertising material in the lobby of the theater where Keaton's character is working. One of them was a very early Stan Laurel silent film, "Mud and Sand", which demonstrated that Keaton wasn't averse to showing another performer's name in print, even if he might have been a competitor, so to speak. There was another one for a 1923 short titled "The Fog", but it appears the movie the projectionist was showing wasn't real. It was called "Hearts and Pearls or The Lounge Lizard's Lost Love in Five-Parts". My search on IMDb didn't come up with anything on that one. I know a lot of folks shun silent films because they don't consider them very interesting, but you can do yourself a favor by checking out "Sherlock Jr." Yes, it's black and white, and it's silent, but director and star Buster Keaton is so inventive that you'll come away amazed at the effects he creates. One could almost call them special effects, but of course, in 1924 they were all real, just camera tricks and techniques to come up with a stunning visual. This is just that kind of a fun flick.

As someone who dislikes silent movies I was pleasantly surprised by how well this movie was. The gags were funny but the most iconic scene was the funniest. The scene in which Buster Keaton's character falls asleep in the movie theater only to reawaken to his love interest and rival playing the main characters of some movie is hilarious. Watching him travel from scene to scene, either falling or over reacting is very entertaining.

Watching Sherlock Jr. brought me back to childhood days watching the three stooges on Saturday mornings. It is not hard to tell how much influence shows like this took from Buster Keaton. The style of humor is still relevant to todays films and the gags are truly entertaining. This movie although being filmed in 1924 is put together quite well using the fairly new technology of the era. Even with the lack of words, the jokes seem to hit their mark every time. the jokes are even more impressive knowing that the actors had to get the punchline across without using any words. Would definitely recommend.

This film of a wannabe crime solver gives a great glimpse of how creative special effects of the time were. All for the soul purpose of slapstick comedy. Sherlock Jr. does a decent job of representing the characters given that this is a silent film. The humor is easy to grasp and the supporting cast is always there to give their little bit of life to the scene for Buster Keaton takes the cake in terms of being a very lively character with a great sense of portraying the intended emotions of each scene.