Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) is not really comfortable with the idea of marrying her fiancé Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), also because she would then have to give up her famous last name. That’s why she’s already late on the way to her own wedding in a church in Malta when Dr. Watson (Himesh Patel) receives news of the kidnapping of her brother Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill). This means that it is finally clear: poor Tewkesbury will have to wait in vain in front of the wedding altar with the assembled congregation for the bride to arrive…
So that just went well. Eudoria Holmes (Helena Bonham Carter) can no longer be seen in public since her literally explosive actions in the underground – and Enola has inherited her mother’s rebellious streak and anger at everything that is unfair in the world. It would be a shame if the young detective, who doesn’t even blow the fourth wall, ended up as the mistress of a nobleman. But even though the marriage doesn’t work out, at least at the beginning of the film, “Enola Holmes 3” – which for the first time is not based on a direct book by author Nancy Springer – seems strangely domesticated compared to its much more impetuous predecessors.
Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) immediately agrees to the proposal – even if she may not be so sure about it.
The new setting in sunny Malta is as spectacular as fog-shrouded Victorian London. The first combination scenes, when Enola has to decipher the codes left behind by her kidnapped brother in order to track down a large-scale conspiracy, also make you want to see a classic whodunit crime adventure. But by the time the identity of the criminal mastermind is revealed halfway through, the third part of the successful Netflix series – despite its more modest running time (19 minutes shorter than “Enola Holmes” and 26 minutes shorter than “Enola Holmes 2”) – runs out of steam prematurely.
After “Fleabag” director Harry Bradbeer left the series to direct the MARVEL series “Spider-Noir” for Amazon, Netflix has secured the services of a currently particularly hot filmmaker: Philip Barantini has just been responsible for all four episodes of the fantastically successful, eight-time Emmy award-winning super hit series “Adolescence” for the streamer. But where “Fleabag” and “Enola Holmes” are tonally similar, Barantini doesn’t seem to particularly like the material – and that applies to the cheerful, rebellious as well as the profoundly dark moments that have distinguished the franchise so far.
Enola Holmes may have imagined her wedding night to be fiery, but definitely not like this…
“Enola Holmes 2” is clearly the best part of the trilogy primarily because the ostensible crime adventure goes so perfectly with the major historical themes surrounding the introduction of women’s suffrage and the exploitation of workers as a result of the industrial revolution. “Enola Holmes 3” is about the injustices of British colonial rule and serious war crimes in the Second Anglo-Afghan War, but it doesn’t come close to achieving a comparable emotional impact as its predecessor. The historical abysses provide fodder for a motif, but are hardly noticeable under the scorching Maltese sun.
The same applies to the title heroine herself. Although she leaves her fiancé standing at the altar in the first scene, not only are her fourth wall breakthroughs scaled back, she also suddenly appears much tamer in other ways. While the first “Enola Holmes” was famously produced for the cinema and was only sold to Netflix shortly before its release, the sweet, sun-drenched romantic scenes from “Enola Holmes 3” now seem like the usual YA streaming fare à la “The Kissing Booth”. At the latest, when the camera slides rather clumsily down Enola’s exposed shoulder, it’s pure kitsch – and if that’s not nice, it certainly doesn’t suit the rebellious detective.
Conclusion: After the change in the director’s chair, both Enola Holmes and her latest Netflix adventure seem softened. “Enola Holmes 3” is clearly the shortest part of the series on paper, but when you look at it it doesn’t feel like that at all.