The Stream: A little boring at times with an obvious twist

The Big Screen: A story of dead ends keeps you involved

The Final Bill: A better movie than the first but not much different

– S2S: Movie Review
Director: Harry Bradbeer
Writers: Jack Thorne (screenplay by), Harry Bradbeer (story by), Nancy Springer (based upon the “Enola Holmes Mysteries’ book series” by)
Stars: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, David Thewlis
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2 hours 4 minutes
Production Companies:
Platform: Netflix released November 4, 2022
Coming to Netflix January 2023: The Pale Blue Eye, Noise

It’s elementary, my dear, Streamers. You knew from the second that Enola Holmes ended that there would be a sequel coming. Our plucky heroine would be roaming the streets of London searching for more crimes to solve and people to find. In Enola Holmes 2, Enola is back to solve mysteries and trying to one-up her older and vastly more famous brother, Sherlock. As these sequels go, however, it can all become a lot more of the same. Here’s whether Enola is able to “out-Sherlock” Sherlock.

Enola Holmes 2 has an easy formula to follow. For everyone who saw the first film, you were already introduced to Enola, so you don’t have to get the who Holmes family backstory again. This movie can move right into what is happening with Enola since the last caper ended. Here, she’s about to close her fledgling private detective agency, when a young girl enlists Enola to find her missing sister. Eagerly, Enola takes on the case of these young women who work in a match factory, and she uncovers the disturbing truths along the way. Sherlock has a bit of a hand deducing in this mystery. Hijinks ensue.

Here’s the thing: if you liked Enola Holmes, there’s no reason you won’t like Enola Holmes 2. Millie Bobby Brown has the same charm and plucky energy as Enola as she did in the first film. Henry Cavill returns as Sherlock, and even though he gets to participate in the crime solving, the focus remains on Enola and her fumbling towards a resolution. The movie is light and interesting. The case has enough twists and turns to sustain the runtime, but it is fairly obvious where the mystery is going early on. I will say that there was a point where I was exhausted by all of the running around and chasing the red herrings. If the characters weren’t interesting and charming, I would have easily lost interest.

The main thing to know is that these Enola Holmes movies are really for your pre-teen/tween-age audience. They are fine for adults, but really, older people will get bored. Your 11-year-old niece will love this. She’ll swoon at the burgeoning romance between Enola and her love interest. Your nephew will swoon over Enola and other castmates and wish they were Sherlock. All while being confused by the most obvious twists, turns, and clues. It’s honestly a win-win situation.

Enola Holmes 2 is a cute teen movie overflowing with young women can do it power. This movie doesn’t feel like it has as much energy as the first but it’s still a quality movie. There is still charm throughout even though the mystery is a bit lacking. Grab a bowl of popcorn and the tween-age family member for a fun afternoon with the Holmes family.