"Enola Holmes 2" is the sequel to the 2020 film "Enola Holmes" based on the book series "The Enola Holmes Mysteries" by Nancy Springer. Once again starring Millie Bobby Brown in the title role, it continues the character's story in the same light-hearted manner as the previous film.
Following the events of the first film, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) decides to set up her own detective agency, hoping to solve mysteries for the citizens of London. However, due to her young age and frequent comparisons to her famous brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill), Enola is unable to find any clients willing to take her seriously. As she contemplates shutting down her business permanently, Enola is visited by a young factory girl named Bessie (Serrana Su-Ling Bliss), who asks Enola to help find her missing sister. Enola immediately accepts the case and is taken by Bessie to her place of work; a matchstick factory experiencing an outbreak of typhus fever. While there, Enola soon discovers a shocking conspiracy that makes her realise she may not be able to solve this new case all by herself.
Back in 2020, I was quite surprised at how much I liked the Netflix film "Enola Holmes", a movie that focused around the adventures of the younger sister of the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Though the story wasn't anything extraordinary, what I thought made it so enjoyable was Millie Bobby Brown's endearing, energetic performance as the title character, a sharp contrast to her more downbeat portrayal of Eleven on "Stranger Things" that we were all used to up to that point. Considering the film is based on a series of books, it was inevitable that there would be at least one follow-up produced in the wake of its success, and now two years later we have "Enola Holmes 2", a sequel that contains most of the same winning ingredients as its predecessor.
Now a few years older, we get to see Enola not only trying to subvert society's expectations of 19th century women but also struggling to make a name for herself as a detective in her own right. The very fact that she is constantly being compared to her brother further adds to her frustration, as she starts to realise that this uphill battle is going to be even more difficult that she had initially anticipated. This added some necessary dramatic weight to the story because Enola learns that nepotism isn't always a guaranteed road to success. If anything, she is at a huge disadvantage having Sherlock Holmes as her brother, since others will instantly view her as the younger sister stuck in his shadow. I like the way the film treats this as a universal issue that any youngest siblings can relate to, especially those who wish to show that they are just as capable, perhaps even more so, than their older family members.
Like with the previous film, Harry Bradbeer continues with his fast-paced, Guy Ritchie-influenced directorial style that helped contribute greatly to what made the original so appealing in the first place. There were numerous parts where the film could have slowed down and become tedious but thankfully there isn't a single moment that drags since the action moves at such breakneck speed. Bradbeer also places better emphasis on the main plot this time, with fewer side stories that could potentially lose the interest of younger viewers. While there are some minor parts that didn't really go anywhere, they didn't distract too much from what was important to the overall story, and even then they were at least easier to understand this time around. Again, I must point out that haven't read any of the original "Enola Holmes" books so I'm not entirely sure how accurate this film is to the source material, but from what I can tell it makes for another entertaining adventure mystery film for teens to young adults.
In her second outing as the main character, Millie Bobby Brown is just so much fun to watch as the loveably peppy Enola Holmes. Every scene she is in, Brown always looks like she is having the time of her life playing this young detective. Whether she's intently investigating a missing person's case or putting up her dukes against any adversaries who dare to take her on, there's a lot to appreciate in the amount of panache Brown brings to the role. Additionally, it was pretty funny to see her occasionally break the fourth wall to address the audience on any comical situation she is about to experience, both good and bad. Brown is truly one of the most talented actresses of her generation, and both these two films and "Stranger Things" are clear proof of this.
It was also nice to see Henry Cavill play a more prominent role this time as the legendary Sherlock Holmes. In the previous film, he appeared to be more laid back than in other depictions of the character whereas here he seems to be taking things a lot more seriously than before. This time we actually get to see Sherlock do what he is best at, and that it is using his famous powers of deduction to help solve a mystery. Cavill holds his own alongside Brown but never so much that it feels like he is trying to upstage her. There is a believable brother-sister bond between the two of them, which made watching them work together a considerably more enjoyable experience.
Unfortunately, Sam Claflin is notably absent as Mycroft Holmes due to apparent scheduling conflicts. This is a huge shame because one of my favourite things about the original film was watching Sherlock and Mycroft's conflicting views on how they should be supporting their younger sister. Instead, Sherlock is all on his own without any explanation given as to why Mycroft suddenly isn't in the picture anymore. Sure, this did allow for more emotional scenes of Sherlock and Enola growing closer as siblings, but there should at least be some solid reasons provided as to how come Mycroft isn't here to offer his own opinions on what path Enola should be taking at this point in her life. No matter how hard I tried to blank him out, the film still felt like something was missing without Mycroft contributing something to the story. Hopefully Claflin will be able to reprise the role if a third film is ever green lit.
As a continuation of the original film, "Enola Holmes 2" succeeds in pretty much the same way, with its charming take on the title character by its lead star and good use of pacing to keep things moving along smoothly. There is definitely potential for this series to become a long-lasting film franchise, but that's only if the actors and filmmakers are able to maintain this streak for the length of time required for such a commitment. At the time of writing this, there is no confirmation of a third entry but considering how successful both of these films have been, I would be surprised if Netflix doesn't give the go ahead anytime soon. So long as the entire original cast return next time, especially Sam Claflin as Mycroft Holmes, then I am all for it.
I rate it 7/10.
