Enola Holmes confirmed Millie Bobby Brown as one of Netflix’s biggest stars by being, at the time, one of the most watched original movies on the streaming platform.
Based on Nancy Springer’s book series, this entertaining origin story allowed Brown to showcase her comedic chops in a role that’s a far cry from Eleven in Stranger Things . In hindsight, the smartest decision for the first movie was not to be a direct adaptation of the book.
This has allowed writer Jack Thorne and director Harry Bradbeer to expand the world in Enola Holmes 2 , while offering the same formula that worked in the first film. Enola Holmes 2 ends up doing too much plot-wise, but it’s still a fun detective game that builds on the promise of the first movie.
The sequel takes little inspiration from the second book and creates its own mystery that, like the first film, is tied to a real-life event. On this occasion, it is about the Matchmaker Strike of 1888, although the central mystery is completely fictional.
Following the events of the first film, Enola has opened her own detective agency to follow in her brother’s footsteps. Unfortunately for her, Sherlock (Henry Cavill) has ended up taking all the credit for solving Lord Tewkesbury’s case, which means no one trusts him enough with her cases because she’s a (shock and horror moment) girl.
He is about to close the business for good when Bessie (Serrana Su-Ling Bliss) arrives, hoping that Enola can solve the mystery of her missing sister Sarah. They work together at the match factory, which turns out to be just the starting point of a sinister mystery that leads Enola to the heart of high society.
At the same time, Sherlock is faced with a case that even he is having a hard time solving. Sensing the danger Enola is facing (and to avoid her own embarrassing case), he takes charge of the search while explaining detective work to Enola. Not that he’s going to let a little thing like his big brother stop him from finding the truth.
In the books, Sherlock and Enola have an antagonistic relationship, as she tries to stay one step ahead of him. The sequel develops the warmer side of Sherlock as Enola’s ward and while it might upset fans of the books, it’s the sequel’s strongest aspect as the pair reluctantly come together.
Separately, Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill are compelling to watch, but together, their chemistry and interplay elevates their already strong performances. It is revealing that the sequences of his solo investigation are dry compared to those that take place when both are working on the case. But fear not, this is still Enola’s show, and Sherlock is a supporting character.
The sequel intensifies Enola’s breaking of the fourth wall, but thanks to Brown’s excellent comedic timing, it never gets anything corny or grating. With the origin out of the way, Brown also has room to develop Enola’s character beyond the monotonous independence of the first film.
However, not even Brown’s talents can make the love story between Enola and Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) work. Although Tewkesbury is more involved than other returning characters, their blossoming relationship takes a backseat to mystery and isn’t given enough space to be fully endearing. He’s sweet, but he doesn’t get involved.
The pacing has improved in the sequel as well, helped by the fact that it throws viewers right into the mystery. The length is similar in both cases, but screenwriter Jack Thorne, who returns to the fray, weaves a denser, multi-layered mystery that has a satisfying denouement, which could even spark debate among Sherlock Holmes fans.
Where the script stumbles is that, once the mystery is solved, it decides to set the future instead of concluding its own story. It’s fun to see the connections to Sherlock’s canon being built, but we would hope that a third film – should it be produced – doesn’t forget that this should be the Enola franchise and not the Sherlock franchise.
For the rest, Enola Holmes 2 does everything a good sequel should do. He doesn’t just rely on the formula, but builds on it to expand the world and fix some bugs from the predecessor. There are still glitches and slight improvements to be made, but it’s a winning return for the detective played by Millie Bobby Brown.
