Enola Holmes, Sherlock’s little sister, wakes up on her 16th birthday to find her beloved mother, pretty much the only family she knows, missing. Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) lives in that most quintessential of British cinematic worlds, the 19th century countryside. Surrounded by rolling green fields, country houses, steam trains. Enjoying a life full of freedom, to think, express, learn, all thanks to her mother (Helena Bonham Carter). She’s not pompous and prickly like her brothers Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin), but she is pretty annoying, with a habit of breaking the fourth wall and delivering pithy yet futile remarks. Regardless the game is set. The big brothers are brought in to sort out Enola’s wild upbringing and find their mother. They’re of course going to fail at both. It’s sadly a bit crap and feels like a TV episode that’s been stretched far too thin. The actors are all a bit wooden, slightly purposely so in their prim analytical way, but again it’s quite annoying. No more so than Brown who seems way out of her depth. It’s a shame. Enola’s story is one of her finding her way. Not the way that the men in her life and all men of the world tell her is the correct way. It deserves better really. So Enola runs away and finds her story entangled with Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) who it has to be said is... annoying. It’s all a bit ridiculous. It does look good, I’ll give it that, but then this is a big production. Mercifully it does shift along at at decent clip too. It’s an adventure and to be fair, perhaps one aimed at a younger audience than myself. It’s rated 12 and has a similar tone to the Harry Potter films. All it’s missing really is the magic. I wonder if I were 30 years younger, would I like this more? Brown will be hoping so, shes also a producer here and it’s clear that the intention is a franchise. I don’t think I could stomach another of these though.
5/10
