Sherlock Holmes poster

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Film · 2h 9m · Rated PG-13

Adventure, Crime, Mystery

A brilliant detective and his partner unravel a deadly plot threatening England with gritty, suspenseful adventure.

Pulpy, with dry wit. A date-night pick at a brisk pace. Emotionally it carries some weight.

Not on a US subscription service as of Oct 25, 2026.

Sherlock Holmes parents guide

It stays inside its PG-13, with some innuendo or implied sex and mild language.

Our estimate: fine from about 13. Rated PG-13.

Scare
Mildly scary
A few tense or eerie moments.
Jump scares
A couple
One or two sudden jolts.
Gore
Light gore
Some blood or injury, briefly.
Violence
Strong violence
Violence is frequent or intense.
Sex and nudity
Mild
Mild means innuendo, or sex implied off screen, with no nudity.
Language
Mild
Mild words like damn, hell or crap.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is Sherlock Holmes scary?
Only a little. Sherlock Holmes has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.
How gory is Sherlock Holmes?
Light gore and strong violence.
What is Sherlock Holmes rated, and is it OK for kids?
It is rated PG-13, with strong violence. Your call for older kids.

What is Sherlock Holmes about?

Eccentric consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson battle to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy England.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

It leaves the ending open to interpretation.

Cast and crew

Directed byGuy Ritchie
StarringRobert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan, Robert Maillet

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Sherlock Holmes is on our Whodunits and Mystery lists.

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Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.