Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

Rating 12
Length 2h10
Release 04/11/2022
Director Harry Bradbeer
About Enola Holmes takes on her first case as a detective, but to unravel the mystery of a missing girl, she’ll need some help from friends — and brother Sherlock.
Moon: no moon sighting
Where to Watch: Netflix
Trailer:

The Good

• Millie Bobby Brown is rather good as Enola. This is the kind of actress who is not only comfortable in her own skin, but it able to show vulnerability within the characters she’s playing.
  This is no exception and, a perfect example is when she is able to, in character, break the fourth wall. Not many actors of her age could pull it, let alone with such an impact on the story.
• All returning actors play their parts as excellently as they had previously and we have new comer David Thewlis who is a delight as always, even if he was playing rather typecast. But then, I always have preferred his Lupin to his Freddie May.

The Bad

• I felt as if the film relied a tad too much on Henry Cavill in this outing. Perhaps it was the lack of Claflin as the second Holmes brother, or just the Cavill of it all but it was one scene away from being a Sherlock Holmes story and that rankled me.
• Which I partly feel was down to the story. Perhaps one that works better in the book, but on the screen I felt that it was trying to be a clever nod to Doyle’s original works while still attempting to be canon. I loved the Matchstick girl storyline, but as it became a larger story and clearly weaved into the elder Holmes’ case, I felt underwhelmed.

The Ugly

• I must say I felt that the protest scene was mishandled. For a film, it felt twee and too scripted. Knowing the protest and strike was a real event made it even harder to swallow. The script and staging was just too clunky, too inactive and then a switch was pressed and it changed.
  I wish they’d played it differently is all and built the scene up rather than have it stagnant and switch.

Final Thoughts

A perfect autumnal watch as the light draws in. It’s wonderful to see Brown holding her own and growing as an actor.