I expected to hate Enola Holmes 3, but the new Netflix movie and Millie Bobby Brown are incredibly entertaining — despite some laughable flaws
When I think of Enola Holmes, one word springs to mind: naff. Average, run-of-the-mill, mundane, as our friends across the world might put it instead.
It's been four years since the sequel and six years since the original movie came to Netflix, and I have no bearing on where it sits culturally. As an avid internet user in my pre "I have a job reviewing film and TV" days, the Millie Bobby Brown-led franchise felt like a complete flop. But look at the trilogy from a critic's perspective, and it's been a solid entry into the streamer's canon.
Watching Enola Holmes 3, I finally get it. As Sherlock's little sister takes on her wildest case — Sherlock (Henry Cavill) himself being kidnapped — I understand the brief writer Jack Thorne is trying to fulfil... a harmless one.
Suitable for all the family thanks to its genuinely fun and compelling (though not exactly unexpected) narrative, Enola Holmes 3 has all the hallmarks of a solid three-star movie. In fact, it's the most three-star movie to ever three-star.
Can you guess the ending? Yes. Do you care? Probably not. Will you look at your phone occasionally while streaming it, or maybe get started on those pesky household chores you keep putting off? I'd put money on it. Will you lose the storyline or interest if you suddenly pop out to make a coffee and keep the TV running? Not in the slightest.
It's safe storytelling at its most entertaining, and I felt a little like I imagine a baby does when a sensory YouTube video presents them with dancing fruit. Gripped, unmoving, but ultimately numb to what's actually going on.
Enola Holmes 3 must have been an actor's dream working holiday — like Mamma Mia! without the singing
If you have an account on X/Twitter or Instagram and are into pop culture, you have probably seen the pictures of the cast wrap party for the 2008 movie version of Mamma Mia! — which involved the likes of Meryl Streep and Colin Firth getting drunk and doing karaoke in Croatia.
In my mind's eye, Enola Holmes 3 had the same effect on its cast. Set and filmed in Malta, the exciting action sequences, picturesque heartfelt scenes walking along the coast, and frequent galivanting around the capital Valette likely amounted to a similar jovial spirit (and imagine a wrap party abroad with a Netflix budget).
The cast is just as stoic as they ever have been, with standout Helena Bonham Carter as a vagrant outsider, a veritable thrill. They're having fun, so we're having fun along with them, with the ingenious use of animated title cards to explain Sherlock lore, a shrewd interactive touch.
It's not particularly taxing or sophisticated as far as storytelling is concerned, but the existence of this IP wouldn't work if it tried to be. Let's stick with tried and tested easy-on-the-eye action, please.
Netflix needs to stop casting actors with 'iPhone face' in its period dramas
Before I come to my main gripe, let me make clear that Millie Bobby Brown is a) beautiful and b) absolutely doesn't deserve to have her appearance critiqued by the internet.
Instead, I wish that the costume and make-up departments had paid closer attention to its continuity, particularly around 'iPhone face' (the theory that someone cast in a period drama has clearly seen an iPhone).
As Brown has matured over the last six years, it's understandable that she'd want make-up that matches where she is in life. The result is that, unlike the previous two movies, she's got a full face of easily identifiable foundation, contour, and lip liner, which definitely wouldn't have been the case in the late 1800s.
Add to this that wider shots show Brown wearing gel acrylic nails — whereas close-ups show her slightly dirtied yet authentic natural nailbeds — and the illusion of a genuine period drama is ruined.
Continuity seems to be a wider issue across Enola Holmes 3, such as shots spliced together in a single scene not properly keeping track of whether someone's eyes have just been opened or closed. Much like the harmless safety of the narrative, it's this lack of attention to detail that keeps the franchise cocooned in its middling category, though armchair detectives might enjoy trying to spot said mishaps.
Still, it all adds to the light-hearted spirit of the piece, doesn't it? How likely is it that Sherlock, the Sherlock Holmes, could really be kidnapped anyway? Just roll with it, as the saying goes.
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