Sherlock Gnomes review: Gnome rangers short on magic

But their relationship hits a rocky patch when the leaders of the talking ornaments (Michael Caine and Maggie Smith) put them in charge of renovating their new garden home.

With great power comes great responsibility and Juliet has so many unruly gnomes to boss around that she has no time for Gnomeo’s romantic gestures.

Then a more pressing problem presents itself. The local news reports a wave of gnome disappearances across London.

A haughty ceramic detective called Sherlock (Johnny Depp) suspects this is the work of his arch enemy, a dastardly pie company mascot called Moriarty (Jamie Demetriou). But by the time he and his put-upon sidekick Watson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) arrive at our heroes’ new home, the only ornaments left in the garden are Gnomeo and Juliet, who missed the kidnapping due to a lovers’ tiff.

As they agree to team up to solve the crime, it becomes clear that cracks are also appearing in Sherlock and Watson’s partnership.

As a fuzzy moral story about friendship and respect develops, the film hits us with a string of slick action scenes. They are scored, slightly incongruously, to songs performed by Elton John, the film’s executive producer.

But the film’s biggest mistake is to ape recent screen versions of the famous detective rather than parody them. And this action-packed sequel is neither smart enough for parents nor silly enough for children.

Great family movies charm adults and children alike and Gnomeo & Juliet got there with cheeky irreverence. Grown-ups enjoyed seeing high culture brought low by chintzy lawn ornaments, while children enjoyed the slapstick characters.

But Sherlock Gnomes lacks crowd-pleasing appeal.