Detective Conan: The Phantom of Baker Street (2002)

Detective Conan: The Phantom of Baker Street is the rare franchise film that feels like a full-course event: a crackling whodunit fused to a sleek sci-fi premise, staged inside a lavishly imagined Victorian London where every foggy alley and gaslit street seems to dare you to solve it first. Kenji Kodama keeps the pace brisk and the tension surprisingly sharp, balancing playful adventure energy with a darker, more thoughtful vibe about technology, legacy, and what kids inherit from the adult world. Even if you don’t know Conan deeply, the central mystery is cleanly told and irresistibly propulsive, building to an ending that lands with real emotional weight rather than just spectacle. It’s not for everyone—some viewers may find the stakes intense for an animated mystery—but if you want a smart, atmospheric ride that treats its audience with respect, this one is easy to recommend.

Detective Conan: The Phantom of Baker Street is clearly aiming for a big swing: a Sherlock-in-London mystery inside a VR death-game, with Conan juggling a real-world murder and an in-game hunt at the same time. When it works, the setting is a fun change of pace, the central premise is genuinely intriguing, and the finale delivers the kind of high-stakes action Conan movies love. The problem is it often feels like an overlong TV special stretched to feature length, with uneven pacing and production inconsistencies that can pull you out of the atmosphere. If you want a tightly constructed whodunit with clean logic and momentum, this may test your patience; if you’re happy with a stylish concept, familiar characters, and a more spectacle-driven ride, you’ll likely have a good time.