Written by: Jack Thorne
Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter, David Thewlis, Susie Wokoma
Rating: [3/5]
When an actor finds a role that suits them well and they can manage to continually bring something new to them, it becomes a pleasure to watch them continue to thrive. That’s very much where Millie Bobby Brown has found herself in her portrayal of the titular character in Enola Holmes 2. With another mystery to solve, Brown continues to charm her way through another fun little story.
Starting up her own agency to acquire work from needy clients, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) initially has trouble with anyone taking her seriously. When approached by a young girl for assistance in finding her sister, Enola takes on the case, and the more she digs into this disappearance, the more troubling it gets as it continues to lead into high places and prominent individuals.
With a charming first film leaving the door open for new mysteries to solve, Enola Holmes 2 has gotten all of the introductions out the way and has presented a situation where they can build on the lessons learned for this character. Now with the goal of solving mysteries on her own outside of what her brother, Sherlock (Henry Cavill), already does independently, she unsurprisingly struggles at first to develop her client base. Not only does she have a disadvantage that she’s a woman, she’s also very young, which does not necessarily imbue customers of this era with confidence in her abilities. However, given the opportunity, she ensures she makes the most of the case she does get.
The case at the center of this film does not necessarily drive much intrigue, as it’s as standard as it gets even with its attempts to present many twists and turns, as one could expect for this genre. Rather, like the preceding film, the most entertaining component lies in the banter Enola has with Sherlock and the general whimsy she brings to the story. With Sherlock, it has now been established how Enola wants to get out from his shadow while he sees his sister as a bit of a nuisance. However, they still have some fun back and forths with each other, especially when it appears their cases will intersect and they will have to work together.
As Enola helms this first case of her as a professional, she finds herself in precarious situations but still maintains the same charm about her. From all of her winks and little pans to the camera as she breaks the fourth wall, it somehow never gets old. A film can easily have this fun little storytelling device lose its luster pretty quickly by overly relying on it to deliver some comedy, but Enola, as a character, does it in such an entertaining way that it can be forgiven. This happens during her investigative work but also in her interactions once again with Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) and how their crush on each other begins to cement into something a bit more firm as the film progresses.
Nothing about this film would work without the performance of Millie Bobby Brown. While I admittedly have only seen her in a few roles here and there, it’s always fun to watch her tap into something this charming, given her breakout role in Stranger Things had her speaking in a way devoid of anything where she can actually thrive. She remains the perfect person to portray Enola in displaying all of the wits of the lead character but also the humor she can evoke in the way she lands her jokes. She and Henry Cavill have built a lovely rapport as siblings, which allows the previous Man of Tomorrow to work effectively in a role he has done before as well. The film’s success mostly lies on her back, and she ensures to make these films very watchable even if the stories do not necessarily stand out.
Another case and another successful entry into the Sherlock Holmes universe with Enola Holmes 2. The young woman returns and means business in her attempts to make it out on her own without the help of her brother and mother. She has her mishaps and missteps, as does the film, but overall, it proved difficult to dislike it solely because of the lead character’s lively and fun approach throughout the movie. They can just continue to churn these out with new mysteries if they continue to bring back this cast as we have another winner here.
Films with Josh 
