Enola Holmes 3 review – Netflix mystery franchise is starting to lose steam

Netflix continues its quest to build original movie franchises, but 'Enola Holmes 3' proves it is no easy feat. The film, released on June 26, is the third chapter following the young detective Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown), who is about to marry her beau Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) on the island of Malta. However, the wedding is disrupted when Enola learns her brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill) has been kidnapped.

Directed by Philip Barantini, known for the series 'Adolescence', and written again by Jack Thorne, the film continues the franchise but with diminishing returns. It clocks in at under 100 minutes, shorter than its predecessors, but this feels more like a lack of ideas than purposeful trimming. The Maltese setting offers initial appeal, but the film feels too small for a summer blockbuster, with a mystery that is plodding and overly simple.

The film attempts to tackle themes like women's roles in society and colonialism, but they are not integrated smoothly. Helena Bonham Carter returns as Enola's mother, and Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Moriarty, but the weight falls on Brown, who struggles to convey natural charm. The result is a safe but unexciting entry, suggesting the franchise may be reaching premature exhaustion.