What a disappointment this is. A mildly amusing title is quickly lost amongst a mess of a movie that seems to have started with a collection of Elton John songs with a film then being constructed around them. Based, very loosely, on a Shakespeare play (can you guess which one?) Gnomeo and Juliet starts off badly and never really recovers. Basically, if you’ve seen the trailer you’ve seen virtually all the laughs in the film. In fact the first 45 minutes are so awful the majority of the audience that were in the cinema with me got up and left. I braved it out to the finish though, and it does pick up a bit, but it was still a struggle. The main problem is, frankly, who wants to watch a film about Gnomes? Pixar, Dreamworks et al have the nous to know that if you are going to pick something unusual as a subject matter, at least make the characters cute somehow (The rats from Ratatouille being a perfect example). Of the two main Gnomes Gnomeo (James McAvoy) is smug, whilst Juliet (Emily Blunt) is just plain annoying. Of the gags that aren’t in the trailer, the majority are barrel scraping Christmas cracker-esque and the filmmakers could be prosecuted under the Trade Descriptions Act for claiming this is 3D. Any redeeming features then? I suppose you can have fun guessing the voices of the British cast and the emergence of an hilarious plastic flamingo (Jim Cummings) does give the film a boost, but it’s a lone light in a film that is so tiresome I don’t think even old Bill himself would bother turning in his grave.
The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
For tiny tots only. Everyone else avoid or just listen to your Elton John Greatest Hits album at home instead. Rating: 2/10
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