“Enola Holmes 3” makes a romantic detour to Malta
Published 2026-07-01 12.57
Enola Holmes 3
Directed by Philip Barantini, with Millie Bobby BrownLouis Partridge, Henry CavillHimesh Patel, Helena Bonham Carter, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Hattie Morahan, Joe Azzopardi.
MOVIE REVIEW. The third film in the Netflix “Enola Holmes” series is the weakest to date.
But it still has its charm, and the environmental change to the Mediterranean ensures a romantic adventure made for summer streaming.
ADVENTURE MYSTERY. Millie Bobby Brown is back as Sherlock Holmes’ clingy little sister in the Netflix third “Enola Holmes” film based on Nancy Springer’s YA books.
A few years have passed since the last time and Enola, who is now a renowned detective in London, is about to marry her Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) in Malta. And while she has her thoughts about what this will mean for her independence and career, she soon has other things on her mind when both her brother (Henry Cavill) and her future mother-in-law (Hattie Morahan) are kidnapped, and she has to figure out who did it (which is surprisingly quickly done) and why (which is a more convoluted story).
Pop style
This time the screenwriter has Jack Thorne worked with the director from his and Stephen Graham’s wrestling hit “Adolescence”, but here is Philip Barantini character strengths relatively invisible, in favor of this franchise’s already established, playful, witty and pop style. With excellent flashbacks, aerial melee combat, animations in Terry Gilliamstyle and a protagonist who breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the viewer.
The mystery itself is unusually thin, not to say outright elementary, and by and large, this is just more of the same, albeit with a little less energy, a more fragmented focus, and a heroine who is now somewhere on the borderland between youth and maturity.
Romantic baths
But it’s still creatively entertaining, with a change of scenery that provides both romantic bathing and criticism of British imperialism, and colorful supporting performances by Helena Bonham Carter as erratic mother Eudoria Holmes, Himesh Patel like Dr. Watson, and a fiery one Sharon Duncan-Brewster like Moriarty.
And as an enjoyable but forgettable holiday adventure, “Enola Holmes 3” does a good enough job of keeping the door open for further sequels.
Shown on Netflix.
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