Enola Holmes 3 debuts to mixed reviews as critics call Millie Bobby Brown's Netflix threequel fun but forgettable

Plot: A wedding interrupted by Sherlock's kidnapping

The film opens on Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) preparing to marry Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) in Malta, but the ceremony is quickly upended when her brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill) is abducted. Enola flees the altar to save him, aided by a bemused Dr. Watson (Himesh Patel).

“A Holmes does not disappear without leaving clues for a Holmes,”

she observes. The mystery pulls her into dark territory, including war crimes and colonial critique, while the villainous Moriarty (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) lurks in the background. Helena Bonham Carter returns as their eccentric mother, and Jason Watkins plays a moustachioed imperial agent. The Maltese backdrop provides a sunlit contrast to London's usual fog.

Critical reception: Fun but forgettable

Reviews are split. The Irish Times praises "old-school, funhouse yucks with unexpected pockets of grit" and a cast that has established "refreshing chemistry." Variety calls it a "frisky and grown-up installment" and a "compulsively watchable escapade." Yet The Guardian argues the series is "starting to lose steam," describing the threequel as "a safely passable franchise perhaps reaching premature exhaustion." IndieWire detects "growing pains" and a lack of verve that makes the darker material feel out of step. The Hollywood Reporter sums it up as "fun, forgettable."

Franchise fatigue: Netflix's hunt for a lasting series

The Guardian notes Netflix has struggled to build original film franchises, with big bets like Red Notice and The Grey Man failing to generate sequels, and the expensive The Electric State flopping. Enola Holmes, originally developed at Warner Bros. and sold during the pandemic, has been a sturdy performer, but the third entry arrives amid questions about its staying power. Brown, now 22 and a veteran of the role, remains a perfect match, but some reviewers feel the formula is growing tired.

Direction and tone: Barantini's mature touch

Philip Barantini, director of Adolescence, takes over from Harry Bradbeer. He and returning screenwriter Jack Thorne bring longer takes and a more grown-up register.

“Great stories begin with a wedding,”

Enola muses in voiceover, and the film tries to balance youthful exuberance with sophisticated camera work. The result, per Variety, "splits the difference between something grown-up and playfully youthful," though IndieWire feels the adult tone does not fully gel. The Irish Times singles out the gimmicky animated flourishes as overstaying their welcome.

What worked before

The franchise, based on Nancy Springer's YA novels, has always mixed sprightly energy with progressive history lessons. Enola's feminism and the franchise's critique of Empire surface again, with Sharon Duncan-Brewster's Moriarty returning. The chemistry among the core cast, particularly Brown's fourth-wall-breaking charm, still carries the film, but critics warn that the spark is not quite what it used to be.