Sherlock Gnomes movie review & film summary (2018)
Believe it or not, “Sherlock Gnomes” does not share the integrity of its predecessor. It all starts, again, with how the pun is executed: this story imagines the famous detective as being too arrogant and selfish to his friend Watson and other gnomes. On top of this, this central character is brought to life with hoity-toity-ness by Johnny Depp, whose pretentiousness only seems like a joke when the script is intensely making fun of that attitude (as in “Mortdecai”). With little wit to its name, “Sherlock Gnomes” becomes far more tedious than playful.
After the contained backyard chaos of “Gnomeo and Juliet,” the now-franchise takes to the streets of London for a mystery that Sherlock Gnomes and his assistant Watson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) must solve. Someone has stolen all of the gnomes in London, with the trinkets vanishing randomly in the night. This includes gnomes like Lord Redbrick (Michael Caine), Lady Blueberry (Maggie Smith), Mrs. Montague (Julie Walters), a fawn voiced by Ozzy Osbourne, and more. Much of the main cast returns, especially Gnomeo (James McAvoy) and Juliet (Emily Blunt), who are now imagined as an seasoned married couple that have lost touch.
I should say at this point that I know that this movie was not made primarily for someone like me. So, I am pleased to report that the most consistent piece of amusement for the crowd I saw (of primary demographic) was the gnome who wears sunglasses and a pink bikini. A close-up shot of his butt got the biggest laugh.
Anywho, thinking that it’s his adversary Moriarty (now imagined as a puffy yellow pie mascot with a sharp-toothed grin and lame meta villain jokes, as voiced by Jamie Demetriou), the overly proud Holmes, his dutiful Watson and Gnomeo and Juliet venture around London, with 24 hours to find the gnomes before they are smashed. Despite these stakes, the story’s sense of adventure is weak, something that I bet kids will notice (or feel in their boredom). As they go from place to place, the script harps upon the tension within the two pairings, especially that of how cruel Holmes is to Watson, which makes for a tediously conveyed message about not taking for granted those who support you. Nonetheless, the greatest challenge for these gnomes seem to be humans noticing their sentience, but would it be so bad if the gnomes were noticed? Or would that bring about a gnome apocalypse?
