Friday, December 9, 2022

Movie Review: Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

Enola Holmes 2 (2022) directed by Harry Bradbeer, based on the novel series by Nancy Springer

After the success of her first adventure, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobbie Brown) opens her own detective agency. All the potential clients have problems...with her. She's so young, she's so inexperienced, she's a she. They'd rather have her more famous brother, Sherlock (Henry Cavill). She's just about to give up when a young girl comes to her with a missing person case--her roommate has vanished. They both work at a matchstick factory, though her older roommate had some other job. Enola searches the clues, leading her into a much bigger mystery and bringing her back into the circle of Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), her romantic interest from the previous film. Meanwhile, Sherlock is working his own baffling case involving government accounts and the movement of cash through many different banks. Of course the cases cross, forcing brother and sister to work together.

The movie follows the successful formula from the first one. Enola is charming and spunky, breaking the fourth wall to talk to the viewer about the situation or provide commentary. A lot of exposition is handled through cute, Victorian-era-styled animations. Flashbacks to Enola's mom (Helena Bonham Carter) provide character insights and inspiration. The mystery moves along at a good pace, with humor, action, and some romance thrown in along the way. Sherlock has more of a role and provides a little gravity to the situation. Cavill and Brown have good sibling chemistry. The action sequences are fun if a bit unbelievable.

Recommended--if you liked the first one, this is more of the same.

As I write (December 2022), this is only available streaming on Netflix.

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