Millie Bobby Brown in Netflix Threequel

When we were first introduced to her, Sherlock Holmes’ younger sister Enola was a fresh-faced teenager, extremely intelligent but inexperienced in the art of deduction. In the unimaginatively titled Enola Holmes 3, the second sequel to Netflix’s 2020 hit (no points for guessing the title of the preceding film), she’s all grown up and a seasoned detective who can give her brother a run for his money. And she’s about to be married to the handsome Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), who is now a Lord.

Millie Bobby Brown reprises her title role in this installment (adapted from Nancy Springer’s best-selling YA book series, which already numbers ten entries plus a short story), as Enola nervously prepares for her upcoming wedding to be held in Malta. Her being a Holmes, things tend to get in the way. In this case, it’s her brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill) being kidnapped, and not long afterward her future mother-in-law Lady Tewkesbury (Hattie Morahan) getting abducted as well. Enola has to solve the case with the aid of the trusty Dr. Watson (Himesh Patel). And if you don’t think the nefarious Moriarty (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) isn’t somehow involved, you just haven’t been paying attention. Fortunately, Enola has the benefit of Sherlock having provided some hints as to his kidnapper. “A Holmes does not disappear without leaving clues for a Holmes,” she observes.

This entry directed by newcomer to the series Philip Barantini (Adolescence) features a sequence at the beginning clearly demonstrating that Enola is now quite a force to be reckoned with. She’s riding in a carriage that suddenly finds itself being followed by a man on horseback whom she takes to be a highwayman. Enola fearlessly climbs to the top of the carriage while wearing her white wedding dress, aiming a shotgun at the menacing figure. It’s a strong beginning for the fast-paced sequel, which, like the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock movies, features just as much action as thinking. Later, Enola also participates in a horseback chase and violent fistfight with the female villain.

Although somewhat darker in tone and style than its predecessors, this installment scripted by Jack Thorne (Adolescence, Lord of the Flies) features the same frequent doses of comic tongue-in-cheek narration, often delivered by Brown directly to the camera, as well as the imaginative animated flourishes seemingly inspired by Terry Gilliam. There’s a helpful recap of the first two films, as well as several flashbacks that newcomers to the series will appreciate. And frankly, returning viewers as well, since the Enola Holmes films, while entertaining enough, don’t exactly linger in the memory.

Brown has matured nicely in the role, exhibiting a newfound steeliness and steadily increasing comic chops. Cavill, absent from the proceedings for long stretches, remains a sturdy presence as the most buff screen Sherlock ever, while Helena Bonham Carter is again reliably amusing as Enola and Sherlock’s sardonic mother Eudoria. Even if the veteran actress is forced to deliver such generic lines as “The answers we receive are rarely the answers we seek.”

Enola Holmes 3 does suffer from slow patches, including too many discussions about relationship issues and such romantic montages as a lyrical swimming sequence featuring the lovebirds Enola and Tewkesbury resembling the cover of a teenage romance novel. But the film redeems itself with its strong anti-colonialist message that provides a surprisingly serious element to the otherwise escapist goings-on.