Enola Holmes 2
By Jennifer Green,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Sequel has violence, peril, and positive role models.
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Enola Holmes 2
Community Reviews
Based on 21 parent reviews
Feminist upgrade, more messages, just a bit more scaryā¦
Rating of age 12 except for a woman's death scene.
What's the Story?
In ENOLA HOLMES 2, the titular book-based character (Millie Bobby Brown) has launched out on her own and started a detective agency in London, directly competing with her more famous big brother, Sherlock (Henry Cavill). But Victorian-era chauvinism means most people won't hire a young woman for the job. One day a girl (Serrana Su-Ling Bliss) requests Enola's services to help find her missing sister (Hannah Dodd). The case of the missing match factory worker will send Enola into both the lower and upper echelons of London society, and also into danger and up against local authorities like Lestrade (Adeel Akhtar) and Grail (David Thewlis). It will involve her longtime love interest and now radical lawmaker, Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge). And the clues will lead her head first into a case Sherlock is working to solve at the same time.
Is It Any Good?
Though this sequel doesn't quite live up to the creativity and excitement of the original, it's still an entertaining, well-acted, and finely produced adventure. Sequels generally start from a compromised place of instant comparison, and Enola Holmes 2 doesn't do itself many favors by incorporating so many flashbacks to the original. (Is this even necessary in the age of streaming, since viewers can refer back themselves with a click?) The references seem intent on focusing on Enola's childhood as an explanation for her character. But Enola is grown now, and her adult adventures are more interesting than her childhood lessons. Having her mother give her life and relationship advice as an adult in one scene is a more subtle touch, for example. Maybe this is a transition phase and Enola Holmes 3 will let grown-up Enola become more fully her own adult creation. For a franchise with so many feminist undertones, that would make sense.
And here's hoping the series does carry on, as the world and characters it's adapted and created are rife with possibilities. That is a great credit to the storytellers and actors, especially Brown (Cavill feels a little underused, though maybe he's just playing repressed), as well as to the production design. Enola's Victorian-era London is steely hued and fog shrouded, a combination of claustrophobic cobble-stoned neighborhoods and enhanced vistas of monuments and factories across the gray Thames. The wardrobe features equally subdued colors, which admirably serve the characters and story rather than distracting from them. Playing a baddie (intended to look "insect-like" via his costume design), Thewlis leads a cast of memorable secondary characters. It seems each new entry in the series will involve a historical event or person and bring in new characters for the follow-up. The mid-credits epilogue of Enola Holmes 2 opens the door, literally, to a potentially exciting addition to the cast.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how so many characters, especially female, in Enola Holmes 2 show extraordinary courage. Does their courage impact more than just themselves? Do they ever put themselves in harm's way unnecessarily?
Many of the characters in the film do both good and not-so-good deeds. Which characters would you consider positive role models, and why?
How do the characters in this film compare with what you already knew of Sherlock Holmes and his world? If you've read the Enola Holmes books, how do they compare with the films?
Which aspects of this film are taken from history? Where could you go for more information?
Enola often looks or talks to the camera in a technique known as "breaking the fourth wall." What's your reaction to this technique? Where else have you seen it?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: November 4, 2022
- Cast: Millie Bobby Brown , Henry Cavill , Helena Bonham Carter
- Director: Harry Bradbeer
- Inclusion Information: Female actors
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Topics: Activism , Book Characters , Brothers and Sisters , Friendship , Great Girl Role Models , History
- Character Strengths: Courage
- Run time: 130 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG-13
- MPAA explanation: some violence and bloody images
- Award: Common Sense Selection
- Last updated: February 17, 2023
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