Netflix<\/a> released the first Enola Holmes film into a world bouncing between lockdowns. It was a fun introduction to Sherlock\u2019s teenage sister, adapted from the books by Nancy Springer, and we were all in dire need of its charming, fourth-wall-breaking wonderment.<\/p>\nThis surely accounts for its huge success on the streaming service, with around 76 million households watching the film in its first four weeks alone. The sequel, happily, at least gets the honour of a cinema run before hitting streaming; and none of that charm or wonder has been misplaced over the past two years. Indeed, with Enola Holmes 2, returning screenwriter Jack Thorne and director Harry Bradbeer have improved upon their original with a sharper, more cohesive film.<\/p>\n
We rejoin Millie Bobby Brown\u2019s determined Enola as she sets up her own detective agency in 1880s London. Unfortunately most potential clients are put off by both her young age and her gender, let alone the fact they\u2019d rather be talking to her more famous brother. It seems that Enola\u2019s career might be over before it begins\u2026 until she receives a visit from a child named Bess (an endearing Serrana Su-Ling Bliss). Her older sister Sarah (Hannah Dodd) has gone missing after being accused of thievery at her workplace, a local match factory.<\/p>
Taking the case, Enola infiltrates the factory and discovers pages have been mysteriously torn from the company\u2019s logs \u2013 presumably by Sarah. It\u2019s not long before her suspicious Holmesian nose has sniffed out a huge conspiracy. However, once the local police become involved \u2013 led by David Thewlis\u2019s extraordinarily threatening Inspector Grail \u2013 even our capable heroine finds she needs a little help from Sherlock (Henry Cavill, on superb, floppy-haired form) and her elusive Suffragette mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter).<\/p>\n
Less successful are scenes with Enola\u2019s potential love interest from her first adventure, Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), which repeatedly screech the film to a halt. He\u2019s such wet blanket it\u2019s hard to imagine anyone as sparky and filled with life as Enola giving him a second glance.<\/p>\n