Enola Holmes (2020) and Enola Holmes 2 (2022)
Starring Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill, the first movie was based on a young adult series of the same name by Nancy Springer. Enola Holmes 2 extends the universe and came out on Netflix yesterday.
Enola Holmes
Laura’s Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
Enola Holmes is the much younger sister of Mycroft Holmes and famous detective Sherlock Holmes. Enola was raised rather unconventionally, learning unladylike things such as chess and jujitsu from her mother, Eudoria. Enola wakes up on her sixteenth birthday to find that her mother has disappeared and left few traces. Rather than attend finishing school as Mycroft suggests, Enola sets out to find her mother through secret messages and ciphers she left behind.
Especially in the early parts of the film, there are lots of word scrambles, symbols, and ciphers. Cute little animations and photos propel the movie along until suddenly the movie drops the transitions and becomes all plot without explanation or narration. There were scenes meant to be heartfelt and emotional but the movie didn’t establish the relationships well enough for me to feel much attachment. I wanted a scene with Enola’s mother that wasn’t a flashback to really make me care about their bond.
The Holmes brothers do their good cop, bad cop routine well and Millie Bobby Brown is charming in her role but nothing spectacular. Her character breaks the fourth wall a lot, which I’m not sure is necessary and makes Enola feel rather childish when the story is a coming of age tale. While entertaining, there are too many plot lines and the tone isn’t consistent. Enola Holmes feels long at just over two hours, and the movie is a bit all over the place.
Enola Holmes 2
Laura’s Rating: 3/5 Stars
After the events of the first film, Enola starts her own detective agency in London. Clients are usually looking for her brother Sherlock instead, but a young girl comes in asking Enola to help find her missing sister, Sarah. Enola begins a dangerous journey to uncover what happened to Sarah, but finds out that she can’t do everything on her own. The story is also inspired by a real-life event (which I won’t reveal for spoiler reasons).
The storyline feels a bit unrelated to previous events in the first film, but eventually characters from the first film help tie the movies together. There are interesting side characters in this film and the supporting cast does a good job. I feel like the movie underutilized Henry Cavill and Millie Bobby Brown’s performance was good but bordered on cheesy in a couple spots.
This movie brought back the fun transitions and code siphers and used them more consistently than the first film. Some plot points were a bit of a stretch but it worked alright with the tone of the film. I thought this movie was a bit better overall and entertaining, though nothing incredible. Both films are good family-friendly entertainment.
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