It's been four years since we last caught up with Millie Bobby Brown's Enola Holmes — and she's been busy in that time. Enola Holmes 3 kicks off with Enola about to be married to Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), having established her reputation as a detective alongside her brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill).
Unfortunately for Enola, just when she's overcome her doubts about marrying Tewkesbury, her ride to the church is interrupted by Dr Watson (Himesh Patel) who tells her Sherlock has been kidnapped. There are plenty of excuses for skipping a wedding, but your esteemed brother's mysterious kidnapping is a pretty good one – even if Tewkesbury doesn't quite view it that way.
But before she can resolve any relationship difficulties with Tewkesbury, Enola must deduce just who would dare to kidnap Sherlock, why he was so interested in the Tewkesbury family's military connections in Malta and how a pile of missing gold fits into it all.
And you thought your wedding day was stressful.
As fun as it would have been to see Enola at the peak of her detective powers in London, the smartest decision Enola Holmes 3 makes is to reflect the four-year gap since the sequel. It allows the characters to have matured and for the movie to see them confront darker themes compared to the first two movies.
One of the strengths of the series is the way it has weaved real-life history into its fictional mysteries. Here, it's the backlash against the British Empire, its hidden secrets and its dark past, which ends up proving a crucial factor in resolving the mystery. Without getting into spoilers, the subject matter gives Louis Partridge the most he's had to work with in the series to date.
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It's not the most satisfying mystery we've had in the series. It doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to know that Moriarty (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) will be involved somewhere (especially as she's teased in the cold open) and the movie plays its hand too early without folding in any other interesting twists.
Thankfully, as with the other two movies, Enola Holmes 3 starts at a running pace and barely pauses for breath, so it never drags. It's just that when Enola puts all the pieces together – in a fun twist on the fourth wall narration that sees another character get involved – you'll be left thinking, "Is that it?"
Related: Will Enola Holmes 4 happen on Netflix? Here's all we know
What helps Enola Holmes 3 is the cast. Bobby Brown is again excellent as Enola with more emotional depth here, alongside the fourth wall-breaking quips. The Stranger Things star is matched by Sharon Duncan-Brewster, who takes full advantage of her Moriarty being unleashed this time around.
You'll wish for more of Henry Cavill's Sherlock, especially for scenes between Sherlock and Enola, but Himesh Patel's Dr Watson fills that gap and brings a fresh dynamic to the series. A scene between Watson and Tewkesbury proves to be one of the strongest, even though it's a quieter moment compared to the flashier set pieces.
There's certainly plenty of those to keep the energy up and the stunning Maltese scenery again mixes it up compared to the London-set previous movies. It doesn't exactly rewrite the Enola Holmes rulebook, but it's a positive sign for the potential future of the series that they haven't been afraid to shake things up, tonally and thematically.
But if all you were after from another Enola Holmes movie was Bobby Brown breaking the fourth wall and solving a crime, then Enola Holmes 3 will absolutely still scratch that itch. The mystery might not be as satisfying, but the core ingredients of the series remain as enjoyable as ever.
Enola Holmes 3 is available to watch now on Netflix.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
