Plot: Adventure chases detective Enola Holmes to Malta, where personal and professional dreams collide on a case more tangled and treacherous than any she has faced before.
Review: When COVID-19 forced the first Enola Holmes film from a Warner Bros. theatrical release to Netflix, it became a massive hit, garnering over 76 million streams. A sequel followed, improving on the tone and pace while telling a story inspired by a historical event. The third entry brings back stars Millie Bobby Brown, Himesh Patel, Louis Partridge, Himesh Patel, and Helena Bonham-Carter, as well as screenwriter Jack Thorne, but shifts directing duties to Adolescence director Phillip Barantini. The result is a nice change of pace that shifts from England to the very different setting of Malta for bigger action and adventure in a foreign locale, with Enola facing old enemies and some new ones. A fast and fun addition to the franchise, Enola Holmes 3 is the best entry in the series.
The first two Enola Holmes films were made when Millie Bobby Brown was still a teenager and leaned into the precociousness of the underage sleuth. At ages sixteen and eighteen, Enola was a brash counterbalance to the reserved approach of her older brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill). In Enola Holmes 3, the title character is now in her twenties and every bit as troublesome as before, but her maturity has shifted the film’s tone slightly compared to the first two. Agreeing to wed Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) in Malta, where his parents were married, Enola invites Sherlock to walk her down the aisle. But, when the ceremony is interrupted, Enola learns from Doctor Watson (Himesh Patel) that her brother has gone missing, sending the younger Holmes on the case to find out what is going on. What follows is a larger mystery that pulls Enola, Watson, and Tewkesbury together to find Sherlock and maybe bring justice to the British colony at the same time.
While the first Enola Holmes centered on a case involving Tewskesbury and Enola’s mother, Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter), the sequel combined a case with the very real 1888 matchgirl strike, making for a more engaging mystery. The increased screen time for Henry Cavill was a nice touch, as was the introduction of a new version of Professor Moriarty, played by Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Dune). Enola Holmes 3 returns to an original story, but one rooted in the British Empire’s history of stealing from the countries it colonized, a plot device that explains its setting in Malta. Right off the bat, Enola Holmes 3 gives us the wedding between Enola and Tewkesbury, which naturally goes awry before setting the young couple on the case. Filmed on location in Malta, Enola Holmes 3 benefits from the distinct look of the Mediterranean island while also chronicling a well-known British injustice, a topic that has been a major news story for several decades, as reparations and the return of plundered treasure remain hot topics.
Clocking in at just an hour and forty-seven minutes, Enola Holmes 3 is fifteen minutes shorter than either of the first two films. Netflix has long been known for letting its original films run long, but Enola Holmes 3 makes good use of its running time and does not overstay its welcome. The story moves along quickly, and the plot, which hews closer to the Holmes and Tewkesbury families, gives Himesh Patel more to do than in either of the previous films while also featuring Henry Cavill’s Sherlock in the main plot. Millie Bobby Brown and Louis Partridge get to spend a great deal of screen time together as Enola Holmes 3 comes full circle to tell the next natural step of their relationship. Of course, no wedding in this franchise can go off without a hitch, which allows the story to build a fun, energetic sense of adventure alongside its mystery elements.
While veteran helmer Harry Bradbeer did a solid job directing the first two films, Enola Holmes 3 marks the biggest feature-film project to date for Philip Barantini, the acclaimed director of Adolescence. Barantini chose a good project to expand his directorial chops, reuniting with his Adolescence screenwriter, Jack Thorne, who wrote the first two movies as well. The writer-director combo makes for a natural team to build this story, set almost entirely in Malta, which uses the seashore, rocky desert lands, and unique landscape to take the Holmes siblings out of their familiar London comfort zone. The shift also allows the Enola Holmes series to grow with the actors. While the novels that inspired the movies stick with Enola as a teenager, following Millie Bobby Brown and Louis Partridge into adulthood means some of the more brash elements of the prior movies are toned down a bit. Yes, Enola still breaks the fourth wall, but it is used less frequently than either of the first movies.
Where a fourth entry in the franchise could go remains a mystery, as the film ends in a way that could cap the franchise or simply close this particular chapter. Henry Cavill and Millie Bobby Brown make for great detectives, especially when they team up, something that has been used sparingly in the first three films. Enola Holmes 3 is the lightest of the movies in the series, making for an easier and more fun adventure than the first two. I had fun with Enola Holmes 3, and it makes for a fun watch over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, especially if you are looking for counterprogramming compared to what is playing on the big screen. Enola Holmes 3 is an easy and fun watch that will hopefully be the first of many globe-trotting adventures we get to enjoy as Millie Bobby Brown continues to grow with this character.
Enola Holmes 3 premieres on Netflix on July 1st.
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