Movie review: Sherlock Gnomes

FIRST, it was Gnomeo & Juliet, and now with Sherlock Gnomes, it’s nice to know that children these days can get acquainted with classic stories, albeit with punny humour.
This sequel to the 2011 animation continues with the story of lovestruck gnomes Gnomeo (McAvoy) and Juliet (Blunt) who have now moved to a new garden, along with the rest of the now-united red and blue decorations.
Gnomeo’s mother Lady Bluebury (Maggie Smith) and Juliet’s father Lord Redbrick (Michael Caine) decide to pass their leadership of the garden to their children.
Juliet throws herself into preparation for the ceremony, leading Gnomeo to seek out a cupid’s arrow orchid, the purple flower that symbolises their love for each other.
All this is happening while entire gardens of gnomes are going missing all over London.
Sherlock Gnomes (Depp) and Gnome Watson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) then take it upon themselves to investigate the cause.
When Gnomeo and Juliet’s own family and friends disappear, they cross paths with the detectives and insist on helping the duo find their loved ones.
There are some movies geared towards children, which inadvertently resonate with adults as well. And then there are movies meant mainly for younger audiences, which are still amazing, but mostly to their intended audience.
This movie is one of the latter. There’s no denying that the 2018 animation makes for an entertaining family movie, but its simplistic plot leads to rather predictable scenes, no matter how much you don’t mind watching anything Sherlock-related.
However, for younger age groups, this might be their very first encounter with Sherlock and his archnemesis, Moriarty.

The movie also tries to illustrate how the brilliant detective’s mind works.
In this aspect, Sherlock Gnomes does not let its intended audience down, although it is mostly due to Depp’s voice acting, considering the actor’s portrayal of other similarly quirky characters.