Sherlock Gnomes (March 23, 2018)

This is a sequel/ spin off of Gnomeo and Juliet (2011). After the events of the first film, the titular couple are happily together (as well as their human owners) and have all moved to a smaller townhome in London. The parents have decided to pass the torch and given them the responsibilities as heads of their families. This creates conflict between the two as Juliet fails to listen to Gnomeo as she is obsessed with fixing up their lackluster new garden. Meanwhile Gnomes throughout London are gong missing without a trace and the famed Sherlock Gnomes is on the case. This leads him to team up with Gnomeo and Juliet to solve this case, and in the process, fix their strained relationship. I have no idea why the studio decided to shift this franchise from a romance to a mystery. I think it would have made more sense to at least tell another Shakespeare story (perhaps even a lesser known one). Instead this is a stereotypical lovers quarrel and Sherlock Homes-inspired mystery. The Great Mouse Detective from Disney did it much better. It was also extremely unwise for Gnomeo and Juliet to be separated for the majority of the film as they are much more interesting and likable together (and that was the whole goal of the first film) The locations are fine with the introduction of more interesting statuesque characters populating their fantastical world within ours (couple with some artistically, if logically dubious, intriguing shots). The characters, however, all feel stereotypical, a serious downgrade from the first film. The new ones, principally Sherlock, are terrible. Finally, the soundtrack is filled with pop songs that, while catchy, take attention away from the action of the film. Overall, Sherlock Gnomes is a lackluster family film, boring and predictable (despite its attempted twist ending). It has no reason to exists and ruins the memory of the original film which I actually quite enjoyed (and reviewed earlier).

Final Rating: 3/10