Director: Harry Bradbeer
Writer/s: Jack Thorne, Nancy Springer
Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, Helena Bonham Carter, Louis Partridge, and more.

Requested Review from Joseph Kelsch

The Intro:
Enola Holmes, the sister to the ever famous Sherlock Holmes. To be honest, I had no clue Sherlock had siblings or even knew much about Sherlock. I have watched the Robert Downey Jr. films a long time ago, matter a fact, I am due for a rewatch of those. I have also seen the BBC Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch, but that was a good while ago as well, so if there were any reference to his family there, I do not recall it. However, here we focus on his sister, Enola, and the telling of her story as she was 16 and on the search for her missing mother.

IMDB Summary:
“When Enola Holmes-Sherlock’s teen sister- discovers her mother missing, she sets off to find her, becoming a super-sleuth in her own right as she outwits her famous brother and unravels a dangerous conspiracy around a mysterious young Lord.”

The Oberrating:
“Enola Holmes” was much better than I anticipated. For some reason, I just had a bad feeling about the film, initially. Despite rocking an impressive three headed monster of a cast with Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, and Sam Claflin, something felt off with the trailer like it would have been a bit childish or something. So I am happy to say it was not childish in the least bit.

The core pieces of this film that really made me enjoy were Millie Bobby Brown as Enola and Henry Cavill as Sherlock. Starting with Henry as Sherlock, this was the most different Sherlock portrayal I have seen between RDJ’s and Cumberbatch’s. Henry was the most kind and human seeming Sherlock of the three. I am used to a cold and seemingly uncaring Sherlock whereas this one had a “family first” mentality. It was a warm and welcoming style of Sherlock.
Second was Millie and Enola. For me, Enola matched the RDJ/BC Sherlock style. Which may have been the point. She was witty, more calculated, and suave. I also really enjoyed the 4th wall breaks which allowed Millie to put on the Holmes charm.

Now the story I was a little back and forth on. On one end, the theme of women empowerment is clear and evident. Enola alone could have carried this theme by being the badass that she was throughout the film. However, Mycroft’s involvement in saying she needed to be trained as a wife and a house lady just felt unnatural and unnecessary.
The other coexisting stories also do not feel very important, in my opinion. The main one, as the trailer shows, is the search for Enola’s missing mother. The second is getting involved in the mystery surrounding Lord Tewkesbury. These stories just did not feel like the stakes were very high and personally, they felt second to the Enola “women first” theme.

The Wrap-Up:
A surprise film that I enjoyed more than I anticipated. Netflix’s new film “Enola Holmes” is a fun enough work that viewers can enjoy for a leisure watch. Packing some decent performances, especially from Brown and Cavill, this is a good one for sure!

Rating: 3/5

References:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7846844/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7846844/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast


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