Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

Directed by Harry Bradbeer

Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown), now a private detective, takes on the case of the disappearance of Sarah Chapman (Hannah Dodd), a poor matchstick girl, who’s disappeared from the living quarters she shared with other workers of the factory including her younger sister. With allies old and new, Enola unearths a conspiracy in the highest echelons of London society, crosses paths with her insufferable brother Sherlock once again and makes a new enemy who might match her in wit and panache.

Honestly, I despised the first movie for its fake feminist message, which set Enola up to be the “not like the other girls” girl and in turn throwing other women under bus for daring to be feminine or conform to the expectations of society. I hated that young girls are taught this tired old trope and as a result was ready to tear this one limb from limb (I might’ve overreacted a teeny tiny tad).

To my surprise, however, the movie turned out to be good, actually.

While the first movie made a novelty of a girl punching back, the action in this installment was fun and the film had very few qualms about punching in general. The fact that Enola is a girl comes up once for humorous effect and is then quickly set aside for some clever sleuthing and sometimes necessary kicking. The plot suffers a little from Enola being related to the world’s greatest detective (not Batman, but close), as his case and sheer presence is on the verge of overshadowing her at all times. Fortunately by the beginning of the third act, the movie gets it together, so that Enola can shine in the finale. 

The Holmes family dynamics are explored further to great effect. The relationship between Enola and Sherlock (Henry Cavill) is respectful and even warm at times, both reluctantly learning from each-other throughout the movie. Helena Bonham Carter is great as Eudoria Holmes, finally questioning her parenting methods and their consequences for her children and David Thewlis as treacherous Inspector Grail has a great time chewing the scenery.

Enola Holmes 2 sheds its predecessor’s artificial “girl boss” message, for a humanist one. All of the female characters are shown to have something valuable to bring to the table, be it knowledge of high society etiquette or knowing their way around a weapon. The fact that it’s based on a real life figure and her political and organizational efforts for female workers rights, shows that there is no need for artificiality, when it comes to showing the worth of women in history, society and fiction.