Millie Bobby Brown is back as young detective Enola Holmes, a role she originated in 2020, in "Enola Holmes 2", now playing on Netflix. Henry "Superman" Cavill also returns as her brother Sherlock, Helena Bonham Carter as her mother Eudoria, and Louis Partridge as love interest Lord Viscount Tewkesbury. As a result of the events in the first film, Enola has started her own detective agency, but finds living in the shadow of her famous brother to be challenging as clients who visit her are shocked to discover she is a "girl" and don't take her seriously. However, one day a young girl named Bessie (Seranna Su-Ling Bliss) visits Enola in the hope of hiring her to find her missing sister Sarah (Hannah Dodd). Enola is thrilled to have her first client, and begins immediate work on the case. Bess reveals she and Sarah work at a match factory where workers have been recently becoming ill and eventually dying from the infectious disease typhus. While most people think Sarah ran away, Bess is convinced her sister is in trouble. Enola's investigation begins in the match factory where she manages to sneak into an office where she discovers some missing pages from a leger, and overhears the owner of the factory in a disturbing conservation. She also discovers the new white tipped matches used to have red tips, which proves to be a pivotal discovery. Enola also meets Mae (Abbie Hern), a hot-headed co-worker of Bess who will eventually lead Enola to another surprising discovery. Meanwhile, on the way home one night, Enola runs into her inebriated brother Sherlock, who has been unable to solve his latest case. She helps her brother with his case, and eventually the investigations the siblings have been working on cross paths, leading to a team-up. During the case Enola attends a ball to check out some suspects, which she is not accustomed to at all, and needs the assistance of her love interest Lord Viscount to teach her how to dance. While at the ball Enola is arrested for a suspected murder becasue she was found at the scene of the crime with blood on her hands. Shortly after she is sent to jail, she is about to be hanged but is rescued by her Mom and her co-hort Edith (Susie Wokoma). After the rescue, a fun chase takes place involving horses and carriages that is a highlight of the movie and allows time for Enola and her Mom to have some great interactions. When she eludes capture again, Enola heads back to London to warn Bessie about the danger they are all in due to Sarah uncovering some important information at the match factory. Our detectives and their friends eventually have a showdown at the Paragon Theater with the film's bad guys, one of which comes as a pleasant surprise and is revealed to be one of Sherlock's most famous nemesis. The film ends satisfactorily for all the characters and the post-credits scene introduces another famous character from Sherlock lore, which will hopefully lead to a third film. This film is pure fun and I especially enjoyed the fact that Cavill's Sherlock had a much larger role in the sequel, as his interactions with Brown are a highlight of the film. All the actors are wonderful, including Bonham Carter, who has a knack for playing eccentric characters to perfection. The script is crisp and sharp and the film moves at just the right pace for such a story. I also realized at the end I had not heard one curse word in the entire film, which proves you can have a quality and fun story without cursing. If you haven't seen the original film or the sequel, I highly recommend both for excellent family entertainment and fun adventures with Enola Holmes and crew. Now streaming on Netflix. (Rated PG-13)
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