Detective Enola Holmes heads to Malta, where her aspirations merge in her most complex and dangerous case yet.
Chuck says:
There’s no question that “Enola Holmes 3” aims to please. As with the previous two features, the third entry in the series brims with ambition and energy, as well as a plot that would benefit from a viewer-friendly flow chart to keep it all straight. And while the parts one and two of this Netflix franchise got by on the charm of its star, producer Millie Bobby Brown, the series’ manic approach towards bringing Nancy Springer’s novels to life wears out its welcome this time around.
The action takes place on the island of Malta where we find our titular heroine (Brown) on her wedding day. While she loves her long-time companion Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), she questions whether she wants to give up her independence. However, this concern is tabled when Dr. Watson (Himesh Patel) shows up unannounced, with the news her brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill) has been kidnapped. Complicating matters is the fact Tewkesbury’s mother (Hattie Morahan) has also been taken.
Well, what’s a perspective detective bride to do but detect? Enola hits the ground running, searching for clues, connecting dots and stumbling upon two dying people who provide her with cryptic phrases to unravel. Of course, her efforts uncover a vast web of events that connect to a far bigger scheme, one that hearkens back to the history of the island and may well impact its future.
Before all is said and done, Enola’s mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter) shows up to give sage advice, her arch enemy Mira Tory (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) reveals herself as the mastermind behind these shenanigans and far too many hair-breadth escapes occur.
Like the previous two entries, director Philip Barantini brings a palpable sense of energy and inventiveness to the film. The movie is an effective mash-up of various cinematic techniques that brings the story to life. Sharp editing and inventive – not spastic-camerawork are employed, while most of the action sequences are imaginatively staged, though overlong.
Equally effective are the striking animation scenes used throughout whenever Enola is putting the pieces of the puzzles that plague her together. Objects that were once present but have left a clue are outlined and characters now absent are superimposed on the crime scene, allowing us to see what Enola sees. Flying graphics, whether they be pieces of a structure thrown together to establish a setting, quickly dropped in newspaper headlines, or broad caricatures, fly around the screen before settling into the view, the energy generated from this approach palatable.
While the central mystery here is easier to follow than those in the first two installments, it ultimately gets bogged down with unnecessary incidents, while the narrative stalls before reaching its predictable climax. By “predictable,” I mean an overextended ending with numerous fights, their outcomes obvious, all of which could have been rendered in half the time.
To be sure, Brown’s efforts or talent cannot be overstated. Her charm and charisma are the reason the viewer holds on, her confidence and self-effacing performance, totally winning. This is most evident when Enola breaks the fourth wall to directly address the viewer, a device that makes the audience part of the action, the character getting us up to speed on what she’s thinking and her method of deduction. All of this is done with a light comic touch.
As a springboard to distance herself from “Stranger Things,” the “Enola Holmes” films have served their purpose where Brown’s career is concerned. Here’s hoping she leaves this series behind for more challenging, meaningful projects that showcase her talent and push her towards taking on complex, adult roles she will surely shine in.
2 1/2 Stars
