I thoroughly enjoyed the first Enola Holmes; the story had the right amount of mystery about it and the script allowed Enola to be tenacious and resourceful, not quite as polished in her tactics as her more experienced brother would be but pushed on by determination. Henry Cavill was also used well - sporadically which made his short screen time a bit more special. But at the end of the day it was Enola's show and she managed to find her own way. The sequel perhaps follows the formula of the first a little bit too closely; good as it retains much of its charm, but to the extent that it feels a bit stale like we've already watched this movie. I think a part of it is that Millie Bobby Brown plays Enola the exact same way as in the first which isn't entirely wrong, it is after all the same character. But it's also good to use a sequel to show some new dimensions to the character as well and this is where the movie feels a bit same-y and stale, there's nothing new or fresh brought in. The script tries to give Enola an arc where she realizes it's useful to ask for help, an arc I distinctly remember being an element of the first film as well. Same-y. She also spends much of this film, like the first, trying to deny she loves Teweksbury up until quite near the end. Same-y. Henry Cavill gets some more to do in the sequel, partly I suspect because the filmmakers realized audiences enjoyed him in the first, but also to facilitate and help with Enola's arc about asking for help. But in so doing, his extra involvement detracts from this being Enola's adventure. He is after all the greatest literary detective and while I'm glad the writers did not diminish his deductive skills to prop up Enola's, it seems he would've solved the case himself thus making Enola a bit redundant in her own sequel. His extra screen time is very welcome but perhaps it should've been in a more general advisory role, as opposed to being directly involved in her case.
The movie is also a little bit too long and much of the bad guys are I'm afraid a bit bland and neither they nor their motivations are memorable. Also not memorable is the score; Daniel Pemberton returns for the sequel but I found his work on the first movie far more engaging.
My last and biggest gripe however comes right at the end. Nail the third act of a movie and any shortcomings in the first two can be somewhat forgotten, the inverse is unfortunately also true. In perhaps an attempt at one too many reveals or a needless intertwining of Enola's world with Sherlock's, the main villain is revealed to be Moriarty. Except here he is...she, alias Mira Troy. Yes, James Moriarty has been gender (and race) swapped. Why? Couldn't tell you, and like almost all such liberties being taken lately with classic IPs it feels jarring and unnecessary. But that's not even the part I found disappointing, its that this scheme he (sorry, she) has supposedly masterminded feels...beneath him. James Moriarty is Sherlock's greatest adversary, his intellectual equal (more so in some cases!) with a vast criminal empire. Yet here the Moriarty mastermind is attached to an opportunistic blackmail with no grander ambitions. Mira Troy/Moriarty (because anagrams. Yes, Sherlock's great criminal equal leaves his identity in an anagram) is shown to be the PA to the minister of treasury and she witnesses him make a dodgy deal with a wealthy businessman. She then steals the signed contract and uses it to anonymously blackmail the minister out of money. That's it. That's the con. It simply escalates because the person she hires to steal the contract gets a bit carried away and kills someone thus bringing in unnecessary attention. It's the doings of a small-time criminal, and is simply not worthy of a grand Moriarty plot where multiple strings are pulled and puppets played while cleverly masking his involvement. The worst is this twist is so unnecessary. The movie is better without it you don't even have to change the plot any way; you can still have Mira Troy behind it all except she's just that - a secretary who no one would have suspected but found a way to blackmail her corrupt boss and get rich. It works perfectly well without needing to be Moriarty, and avoids all the pitfalls of needlessly making her Moriarty.
And that for me nudged it down from a 6/7 to a 5 out of ten. In summary: while a bit drawn out, Enola Holmes 2 is an enjoyable enough adventure with a likable lead, but that struggles to differentiate itself from its predecessor or bring anything new to the (now) franchise.
The movie is also a little bit too long and much of the bad guys are I'm afraid a bit bland and neither they nor their motivations are memorable. Also not memorable is the score; Daniel Pemberton returns for the sequel but I found his work on the first movie far more engaging.
My last and biggest gripe however comes right at the end. Nail the third act of a movie and any shortcomings in the first two can be somewhat forgotten, the inverse is unfortunately also true. In perhaps an attempt at one too many reveals or a needless intertwining of Enola's world with Sherlock's, the main villain is revealed to be Moriarty. Except here he is...she, alias Mira Troy. Yes, James Moriarty has been gender (and race) swapped. Why? Couldn't tell you, and like almost all such liberties being taken lately with classic IPs it feels jarring and unnecessary. But that's not even the part I found disappointing, its that this scheme he (sorry, she) has supposedly masterminded feels...beneath him. James Moriarty is Sherlock's greatest adversary, his intellectual equal (more so in some cases!) with a vast criminal empire. Yet here the Moriarty mastermind is attached to an opportunistic blackmail with no grander ambitions. Mira Troy/Moriarty (because anagrams. Yes, Sherlock's great criminal equal leaves his identity in an anagram) is shown to be the PA to the minister of treasury and she witnesses him make a dodgy deal with a wealthy businessman. She then steals the signed contract and uses it to anonymously blackmail the minister out of money. That's it. That's the con. It simply escalates because the person she hires to steal the contract gets a bit carried away and kills someone thus bringing in unnecessary attention. It's the doings of a small-time criminal, and is simply not worthy of a grand Moriarty plot where multiple strings are pulled and puppets played while cleverly masking his involvement. The worst is this twist is so unnecessary. The movie is better without it you don't even have to change the plot any way; you can still have Mira Troy behind it all except she's just that - a secretary who no one would have suspected but found a way to blackmail her corrupt boss and get rich. It works perfectly well without needing to be Moriarty, and avoids all the pitfalls of needlessly making her Moriarty.
And that for me nudged it down from a 6/7 to a 5 out of ten. In summary: while a bit drawn out, Enola Holmes 2 is an enjoyable enough adventure with a likable lead, but that struggles to differentiate itself from its predecessor or bring anything new to the (now) franchise.