Millie Bobby Brown
Enola Holmes
Overview
Adventure follows detective Enola Holmes to Malta, where her plans to tie the knot unravel when Sherlock's disappearance plunges her into a perilous case.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
4 min readThe Case of the Vanishing Spark
I’ll admit it: I went into Enola Holmes 3 with a soft spot. The first film had been a delightful surprise—a Victorian adventure with a sharp, witty heroine who outsmarted her famous brother without losing her humanity. The second had its charms, too, even if it stumbled a bit under the weight of its own ambitions.
But this third entry? It feels like a detective story where the mystery has already been solved before the first clue is even laid out.
That’s not to say it’s a bad film. It’s just… unnecessary. A competent but hollow echo of what came before, like a favorite song played one too many times until the melody loses its magic.
The case at the center of the story—Sherlock’s disappearance in Malta—is so thin it might as well be made of lace. The twists are telegraphed miles ahead, the villains are forgettable, and the pacing drags like a carriage with a broken wheel. What should feel like a breezy, sun-drenched romp instead feels like a stage play: all dialogue, no momentum.
Millie Bobby Brown is still the film’s greatest asset. She carries the role with the same effortless charisma that made Enola so compelling in the first place—equal parts clever and vulnerable, with a physicality that sells every emotion. There’s a moment early on where she’s supposed to be playing the part of a demure bride-to-be, but her fingers twitch at her sides, betraying her restlessness.
Audience Opinions
Audience 6.1/10
"A competent but diminished third entry that trades the series’ spark and mystery for a predictable, talky plot, held up mainly by Millie Bobby Brown and a charming central romance."
The main highlight is Millie Bobby Brown’s performance and the affectionate Enola–Tewkesbury relationship, with several people enjoying the Malta backdrop and finding the movie pleasant, low-stakes entertainment. The biggest letdown is a thin, easily solved case that feels overstuffed with ideas yet light on real intrigue, leaving many to say it lacks the charm, energy, and emotional punch of the first two films. latestnetflix.com's read is that Criticism also centers on slow, dialogue-heavy pacing, modern-feeling makeup and costumes that break the period illusion, and supporting characters who never get to shine.
What viewers praise
- Strong lead performance Millie Bobby Brown is widely seen as engaging and charismatic, anchoring the story even when the script wobbles.
- Endearing central romance The dynamic between Enola and Tewkesbury is often called sweet and adorable, providing some of the film’s most satisfying moments.
- Attractive Malta setting The Mediterranean locations and cinematography are praised for giving the series a fresh, sunny visual flavor.
- Easygoing watch Some describe it as fun, low-stakes mystery comfort viewing that’s enjoyable if expectations are kept modest.
Common complaints
- Thin unengaging mystery Many complain there is little real sleuthing, with clues handed to the characters and twists that feel obvious or undercooked.
- Loss of earlier charm Compared with the first two entries, this installment is described as bland, less playful, and missing the spark that made the series feel special.
- Talky slow pacing Long stretches of exposition and monologues make it feel like a stage play, with too much talking and not enough adventurous momentum.
- Distracting modern look Makeup, hair, and some costumes are repeatedly called out as overly glossy or contemporary, pulling people out of the supposed period setting.
- Underused side characters Sherlock, the villain, and several returning faces are viewed as weakly written or sidelined, leaving the world around Enola feeling flatter than before.
Recommended for
Millie Bobby Brown devotees Enola Holmes trilogy completists Light mystery comfort-watch seekers Wholesome period adventure fans Young teen mystery viewers
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsThe wedding was in Malta. The crisis was the heat.
Millie Bobby Brown showed up on a Happy Sad Confused taping still talking like a bride who had just survived a heat wave. Filming Enola Holmes 3 in period clothes on a Mediterranean island was, she said, "not Malta-friendly." She sat production down and asked for more fans and air-conditioned tents. "Basically my sole job for two months was keeping the crew and cast cool." Sweat ran down her. She compared it to Stranger Things season 4 in the New Mexico desert, when the sun made it hard to keep her eyes open. Then she laughed. She had just married Jake Bongiovi in real life. Doing the wedding again on camera was the part that excited her. "I never, never thought we'd ever leave London." 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_pEJjq-9xQ
Netflix's own trailer dated the drop July 1, 2026. TMDB files it a day earlier. Either way, this is the first Enola movie Harry Bradbeer did not direct. Philip Barantini took it, fresh off the one-take series Adolescence. Jack Thorne came back to write. Empire caught Brown and Louis Partridge posting a oner with their Scouse director as cameras rolled in April 2025. Variety's Tomris Laffly, writing after a Paris Theater screening on June 25, said Barantini kept the zip of the first two films and snuck in those long takes. Enola opens in a bridal gown on a Maltese hill. "Great stories begin with a wedding," she tells us. The ceremony does not last. Sherlock vanishes. So does the future mother-in-law. 
Malta played itself
Principal photography started April 10, 2025 at Shepperton. Brown posted wrap on June 27. TVM News said the Malta leg ran more than a month through Mellieha, Valletta, Attard, Mdina, and the Malta Film Studios, with more than 360 local crew on the Cash Rebate. Minister Owen Bonnici and commissioner Johann Grech visited the Mdina set. The Tudum wedding packet puts the in-story date at June 21, 1886, St. Paul's Cathedral. Partridge told the site their first kiss in the earlier film was a peck on the hand, "quite sweet and polite and reserved." Brown said they had to learn Victorian fan language so Tewkesbury could flick "I love you" without saying it.
Thorne did not adapt a Nancy Springer plot this time. Wikipedia calls it an original, pointed at British colonial Malta and a fictional Battle of Khost. Henry Cavill is back as Sherlock. Himesh Patel gets a full Watson after a cameo. Sharon Duncan-Brewster's Moriarty returns in earnest. Brown is a producer. Critics split. Rotten Tomatoes sat at 65 percent from 78 reviews when Wikipedia logged it. Laffly called the kidnapping far-fetched and the Maltese water gorgeous. The Hollywood Reporter liked Brown's new steel. The Guardian gave it two stars. Watch the trailer. The dress is the hook. The heat is the story they actually lived.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.