Enola Holmes was a surprise hit for Netflix a couple of years ago. It was a funny action adventure film starring one of their darlings Millie Bobby Brown. One of the stars of the huge hit series Stranger Things. She has been in a couple of other things in her career but this film was her first starring role in her career. Now she’s back as Enola Holmes again in its sequel Enola Homes 2.
Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) is starting her own detective agency and she gets a client in a little girl who has lost her older sister. Brown’s Ebola has her hands full with corrupt policemen, greedy business owners, and a plot straight out of the history books. Not to mention her older brother Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill) who she needs his help because everything gets a little too hard and complicated for her.
These Enola Holmes movies are fun because there is a lot of action and adventure that these characters get involved in As well as a great mystery. There are a few cool fight scenes and chase scenes through the streets of London in this film. One, in particular involving two horse and buggy carriages was a crazy sequence involving one of the main villains played by David Thewlis, and a couple of returning characters Eudora Holmes (Helena Bonham Carter) Enola and Sherlock’s mother, and Edith (Susan Wokoma) one of the family friends.
Harry Bradbeer, the director, has created a really good sequel to the hit film from a couple of years ago. He uses the script from Jack Thorne and Nancy Springer which is very good. It isn’t convoluted or too complicated. It has a very good plot and various story beats for all its characters to thrive in. A good mystery has to keep the audience engaged and interested in all the goings on within the film and this one does that. There was one plot point I figured out pretty early on though. It still didn’t ruin a good experience coming back into this world of England in the 1800s.
Millie Bobby Brown is fantastic in this series of films, not yet a franchise though. She commands the screen opposite heavyweights like Henry Cavill, David Thewlis, and Helena Bonham Carter. She has the charisma and charm of a seasoned veteran in the business. She has the glamor and beauty of the starlets of yesteryear. She had really come into her own. There is a lot of heavy lifting via the dialogue she has to say and she utters it flawlessly. Along with dancing and fighting, she does it all in this sequel. I hope to see a third in this series of films.
One of the things I love about these Enola Holmes films is the production design. The look of these films is pretty cool. This world isn’t an easy one to recreate and the people behind it do a great job. Along with the production design are the costumes and hair and makeup departments. All these characters look the part of this era in history. The dresses and clothes are all very beautiful. This film is better off because of all these below-the-line departments.
Enola Holmes 2 was a nice return to this world. The story wasn’t too complicated but it was fun to follow along with. The mystery was a good one grounded in reality and history. The action and adventure within this film were fun and kept me entertained throughout. The acting by the cast was fine but Brown was superb. She is coming into her own as an actress and I look forward to seeing her in more projects outside of Stranger Things and a third Enola Holmes movie. Netflix has another big hit on its hands.
4 stars
Dan Skip Allen
From the Fourth Row! 