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Enola Holmes 3 review: Millie Bobby Brown is on fine form in the best Enola Holmes film yet

After two enjoyable yet ultimately fluffy prequels, this is the movie that finally allows Enola Holmes to achieve emancipation.

Millie Bobby Brown as Enola Holmes in Enola Holmes 3

John Wilson/Netflix ©2026

Published: Wednesday, 1 July 2026 at 12:01 am

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A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Movie sequels are supposed to get worse as they go on, aren’t they? That old adage is tested here, with the return of Sherlock Holmes’s sparky sleuth of a sister. This third tale builds upon the quirky beats and frenetic set pieces of her first two outings. It also heads off to pastures new, swapping 19th-century London for the sunny climes of Malta.

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Millie Bobby Brown is on fine form – again – as the now fully-grown and set-to-be-married Enola Holmes. There’s no doubt that she’s in love with the genial Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), who she met in the previous film, and he’s devoted to her in return. The problem is that he’s a member of the House of Lords, a rising voice in social change and a thoroughly respectable member of society. Enola, however, isn’t.

She’s a female detective, a brand-new ‘profession’ frowned upon by posh types. Can she fit in with her husband-to-be’s life? Sherlock (Henry Cavill) doesn’t seem to think so, scowling and grunting his way through the pre-wedding meal like a Superman with a sore head. Worse, the concept of giving up the Holmes surname and becoming a Lady is giving Enola the wedding-day heebie-jeebies.

And this is where we first join her, after an entertaining recap of the previous films to get any slackers or newbies up-to-date. Late to her own wedding, she receives an unexpected visit from Dr Watson (Himesh Patel), who informs her that Sherlock (Henry Cavill) has been kidnapped. One frustrated fiancé later, Enola is on the case, scouring the island for any trace of her sulky older bro.

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"A Holmes does not disappear without leaving clues for a Holmes!" she declares. “Other detectives may be available,” deadpans Dr Watson to the audience, in a prime example of the script’s perfectly silly, fourth-wall-breaking humour. (Jack Thorne, having won Emmys for penning dark drama Adolescence, clearly relishes the chance to chuckle in this screenplay.) Anyway, Tewkesbury is understandably rather miffed, but after an incident involving a member of his own family, he joins Enola on her quest for answers.

There’s an interesting subplot which involves British colonialism and its impact on Malta; a harsh history lesson which seems fitting, given how the production has got its money’s worth from the island’s gorgeous locations. Most of the stylistic tics (frantic editing, illustrated sequences, Enola talking directly to the camera) and world-building in this franchise have been set in place by now, so a visit from Enola’s explosives-obsessed mother (Helena Bonham Carter) is an unsurprising but welcome one.

What isn’t welcome, however, is a convoluted plot that requires Enola to take a break every now and then to recap everything we’ve learnt so far. Perhaps the filmmakers were worried that audiences wouldn’t be able to keep up with her impressive brain. What’s more likely is that Netflix asked them to keep bringing ‘second-screeners’ – people half-watching while on their phones – up to date. Either way, it can feel a little patronising if you are paying attention, although younger viewers may still find it useful.

The film’s plots, fights and chases (one bringing to mind the bazaar sequence in Raiders of the Lost Ark) are inventive and dramatic, and the script takes pains to ensure that Enola and her fella share a decent number of heartfelt moments. Tewkesbury felt underwritten in the previous film, but here he stands firm, with Partridge twinkling alongside his partner.

Yet, as always, this is Millie Bobby Brown’s film through and through: neither Cavill or Bonham Carter’s star wattage can outshine her. After two enjoyable yet ultimately fluffy prequels, this is the movie that finally allows Enola Holmes to achieve emancipation.

Enola Holmes 3 is now streaming on Netflix.

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Authors

Jayne Nelson

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