‘Enola Holmes 3’ Review: Millie Bobby Brown’s Charming Young Detective Saga Has Some Growing Pains

Time marches on. Even, it seems, for mostly charming Netflix film franchises. Growing pains? They can’t be escaped, even by our sharpest of minds.

Such is the case with Philip Barantini’s “Enola Holmes 3,” the third (duh) film in the Millie Bobby Brown-starring whodunit series that imagines that the Holmes family also spawned another gifted detective in the form of, gasp, a young woman. Over the course of three films and six years, the “Stranger Things” star has proven to be a sprightly and darling leading lady, pluckily tackling both crazy mysteries and even wackier on-screen flourishes.

Brown remains a perfect match for the role of Enola Holmes, as inspired by Nancy Springer’s YA book series “The Enola Holmes Mysteries,” but the series’ third film displays some hinks and kinks we certainly hope the cinematic series will grow out of. Perhaps that’s due to the film’s director, “Adolescence” helmer Barantini, who takes over from Harry Bradbeer, director of the first two films. Barantini, here reunited with “Adolescence” co-creator Jack Thorne (who has scripted all three films), adds more of a grown-up touch to Enola’s maturation, an understandable choice that doesn’t quite gel with the material’s general exuberance.

That’s not to say that these films fare better when they’re sillier. On the contrary, the “Enola Holmes” films have never shied away from heftier subject matter, rife with mysteries that tackle government conspiracies, women’s rights, the horrors of factory work, the pressures of the class system, and so much more. Enola is a tough cookie, and so while “Enola Holmes 3” and its central mystery journey into some pretty dark material (war crimes, anyone? a little genocide? pillaging?), the surprising lack of verve around it makes it feel out of step with the rest of the series.

We open on a wedding — specifically, Enola and Lord Tewkesbury’s (Louis Partridge), a far-flung affair that feels ill-fated from the start. Partially shot on location in Malta, the whole thing looks stunning, and it’s delightful to see an Enola mystery unfold outside of London, and it certainly kicks off with the ol’ Enola pluck. She’s late for the wedding (again, hers), and as she races to the church, she’s set upon by highway robbers (or is she?!) and her own misgivings about the racket that is marriage.

Never fear, Enola, because this whole thing is about to be totally upended by the news that her beloved big brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill) has been kidnapped, surely hinting that this wedding is not at all what it seems to be. As is common with Enola Holmes films, zippy flashbacks and kicky montages illuminate what led up to all of this, but there’s an energy missing here, as the film races to get back into the present Maltese moment, which feels dire indeed.

‘Enola Holmes 3‘John Wilson/Netflix ©2026

With the wedding canceled, Enola attempts to juggle her investigations with easing Tewkesbury’s believably bruised heart, but alas, things just don’t slow down. Or, well, they do, confusingly enough, because while Thorne’s script continues to layer on the drama (Tewkesbury’s mom is kidnapped next, their entire hotel catches fire, Maltese freedom fighters become involved, and an old foe emerges in legitimately terrifying fashion), the whole endeavor feels oddly flat. Enola dutifully trudges between clues and possibilities, shuffling through crime scenes and racing around shady spaces, all of this much more paint-by-numbers than connect-the-dots.

The mystery at hand, while complicated, doesn’t really offer that much to unravel. Deductions aren’t so much the work of Enola’s quick brain as bald observations that require only a camera zooming in quickly on some key piece of evidence. Detecting, thy name is dolly zoom. (Consider this: A key sequence that “reveals” how and why Tewkesbury’s mother became so obsessed with the idea of a Maltese wedding is mostly just a flashback to events that Enola would have no knowledge of and that truly don’t do much to explain why a simple mention of the location would stoke Lady Tewkesbury into such fervor for the event. It’s a lot of that.)

‘Enola Holmes 3’John Wilson/Netflix ©2026

A journey back through my previous reviews of the series offered some sterling clues as to why this franchise has succeeded so far. The first film “is rife with all sorts of mysterious twists and turns and shocks. It also never forgets that it’s inspired by a series designed for the younger set … genuinely appealing for a wide audience. … it establishes Enola and her evolving world as one both entertaining and instructive, a glimpse at a people and place on the cusp of something better and bigger, and willing to follow every clue to get there.”

The second film was a bit too bloated for my tastes and one that didn’t add much to what came before. I wrote that the “franchise-starter was frisky and fun, its follow-up rehashes the original’s charms (with wishy-washy results), while expanding elements that required no additional attention.” I even asked that subsequent entries get back to basics, and if that suggestion was taken to heart, it was also taken way too far. This is far too elementary for all involved.

My newest demand: Let Enola really grow up, and get as complicated (and clever) as that requires. We’re ready for the next level, because this particular mystery is not it.

Grade: C

“Enola Holmes 3” starts streaming on Netflix on Wednesday, July 1.

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