Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Okay, I might have called the first one ‘fun’ too, but there aren’t many words in the English dictionary capture its meaning the same way. Synonyms be damned. Even the primary antagonist in ‘Enola Holmes 2’ simply smirks and says ‘IT WAS FUN’, after the detectives expose the villain.

Directed by Harry Bradbeer, the 2022 Netflix sequel sees Millie Bobby Brown reprising her role as Enola Holmes, while Henry Cavill plays the more famous older brother Sherlock. Enola runs her own detective agency, but since she lives in Victorian era London, when women had little agency, nobody trusts her to investigate their case. And when Ms Holmes finally decides to shut shop for good, a little girl turns up in her office, seeking help in finding her older sister who worked at a matchstick factory.

What starts off as a simple ‘missing person’ case, turns into a dangerous complex game with many players and Enola Holmes gets entangled in a web of corruption and murders. She’ll need help to keep out of trouble and it might mean turning to her genius brother for help… among others.

Netflix users are familiar with Millie Bobby Brown from ‘Stranger Things’, and she slips effortlessly into Enola’s character, who is a cheery spirited teenager, poles apart from dark angst-y Eleven she plays in the popular horror-fantasy series. She breaks the fourth wall with ease (a visual device which can prove to be either annoying or awkward if the actor cannot pull it off), and keeps things entertaining throughout the runtime.

Helena Bonham Carter and Susana Wokoma also reprise their feisty feminist roles as Eudora Holmes and Edith. Their cameos are brief but thrilling, especially because they get to beat the bad guys. Who doesn’t love watching women kick some ass? Expect a generous display of girl power and grit.

In a wise decision, the handsome Lord Tewkesberry (Louis Partridge) also finds his place in the Enola Holmes cast. While romance isn’t a key ingredient of the tale, the onscreen chemistry between the actors is cute – Tewkesberry is exceedingly endearing around Enola. David Thewlis is wickedly despicable as corrupt cop Grail, while Hannah Dodd blends into the background and is quite forgettable in her cameo, but it was expected of her character.

As far as the mystery-investigative part of ‘Enola Holmes’ concerned, a lot of elements were predictable and the story isn’t as clever as the makers want it to be. There was a definite attempt to re-create the kind of intrigue and awe Benedict Cumberbatch’s ‘Sherlock’ stirred up in viewers, but the results aren’t as effective. It’s the characters, their banter and Enola’s charm as an individualistic free-spirited young woman detective which make the story worth a watch. The theme is also interesting, while the first film revolved around a conspiracy involving a privileged rich boy, this time the focus is on exploitation of women workers in factories.

From purely an entertainment point of view, ‘Enola Holmes’ is proving to be a great ‘watch with the family’ kind of franchise and I would love to watch a part 3, 4 and many more. Especially if the creators can keep the primary cast intact, since Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill make for a delightful sibling duo on the screen. Like Cavill’s character suggests in the film – maybe the makers should also think of a ‘Holmes & Holmes’ series.

It’s a 7.5/10 from me. Stream it on Netflix.

Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube by the same name – AbstractAF
Listen To: ‘The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida’ Worth A Read?