Enola Holmes 2

New on Netflix.

Harry Bradbeer and Jack Thorne team up again to bring Nancy Springer’s Enola Homes back for a second outing. Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) bouyed by the success of solving her first case opens her own detective agency. However, things have not gone well. But as she is about the close the doors for the last time a young girl, Bessie (Serrana Su-Ling Bliss) turns up needing help to find her sister Sarah (Hannah Dodd). This leads her on a mystery that takes her through the dark world of 19th century working conditions, theft, high society corruption and murder, which leads her to cross the path of a case her brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill) is working on.

I enjoyed the first film, yes it was a little long, the story messy and Cavill was not convincing as Sherlock, but it had a certain fun and energy that made it an enjoyable.

The problem for this sequel is it has all of the same problems, but didn’t have the saving graces of the first one. Again it was too long, the pacing uneven and the the story too fragmented to keep my attention. And it’s a pity, as actually there is probably a good film in there. The mystery touched on some interesting ideas as well as some fascinating historical moments including a significant moment in female workers rights. But all of this is lost in the rather rambling story, a story that never seems to want to end, with the feeling of at least three moments of “oh and here’s another thing”.

Some of the good bits remain, the look and feel, that takes a lot from Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films, and Brown herself remains engaging as the lead. Cavill was slightly more believable as her brother and David Thewliss brings a bit of darkness with his sinister policeman Grail. But not enough good bits.

Enola Holmes 2 was a disappointment, with all the problems of the first, but without the fun adventure that made it work. It’s too long, it seemingly never wants to end and the story is a mess. After the first one I was more than happy to see another installment, after this I’m not so keen for a third.