Enola Holmes

Millie’s awesome in this one. I truly mean that. The only virtues of this spectacle are the spontaneity of her acting together with Henry Cavill’s pleasantly subdued, charming Sherlock  and the cinematography, which is unusually lavish for a Netflix production. As for the rest of it, however, stay away from this in-your-face politically correct fable which tries hard to be woke. I certainly don’t have any qualms about the feminist movement, but this is too much “out of joint”; I always find it rather daft and removed from contemporary reality whenever female characters set in the 19th century fight like men or want to fight like men. The net result is merely a political statement by today’s Hollywood studios, of the kind that has become fashionable these days. (2020.09.23)

I am delighted that the excitement promised by the trailer, the images, and Millie Bobby Brown herself is abundant. There is always something happening, someone is being pursued, or something is exploding, although it is not always clear what or why. The famous last name is rightfully in the title and often reminds one of Robert Downey's portrayal of the most famous detective. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm and almost Potter-like atmosphere begin and end. The motivation of anyone except Enola herself, whether it is completely minor characters or unfortunately even members of the Holmes family, can be summed up in one sentence. And that is either the loss of the screenwriter or more likely the adaptation itself. Despite clear disappointment, it may still be a series from which I take at least energy and good feelings, but the original potential was headed somewhere else. (2021.08.06)

A playful and a smart-mouthed mixture of a child's (or girl's, if you want) adventure/emancipation in the world of grown-ups and basic Holmes proprieties all in one package for the whole family. And everyone involved is obviously enjoying it. Enola's character sometimes flirts with too much “Mary Sue style", but never to the point of being annoying and definitely no more than Sherlock did himself in his time. So at least it stays in the family. It does not reach the quality of Young Sherlock Holmes, but it is cut from the same cloth. The most detrimental thing is the unnecessarily long running time, during which the three main storylines will never be connected. And so the first, second and third are resolved independently. However, not together, but at the expense of the other storylines. Overall, however, this treat is so tasty that there should be more of it in the future. I will at least taste it again. (2020.09.23)

Where exactly did Enola come from? I almost feel like it is some kind of a weapon of contemporary feminists and a statement that every Sherlock has his own Enola. It nicely reacts to one episode of Red Dwarf in which William Shakespeare was made into Wilma Shakespeare. And that joke is more than 20 years old. Moreover it is a pity that this movie isn’t at least funny. Millie is surely great and she enjoys her role a lot. That shouldn’t come as a surprise given that she financed it herself as probably the youngest Hollywood producer of today at the age of 16. But she should have left out the sarcastic comments addressed directly to the camera. After watching the movie I couldn’t figure out what it was all about. So at the end of the day my expectation wasn’t fulfilled and Netflix disappoints me once again. (2020.09.27)

Cute family entertainment where I initially predicted a max of 50% and lo and behold Netflix has another positively received film. Millie Bobby Brown is a great young actress who has already shown her talent in Stranger Things and she only confirms it here. There's not much action here, it's more of a drama with nice production design and a nice period London. Enjoyed it, but it's targeted more for a younger audience. Story***, Action**, Humor**, Violence>No, Entertainment****, Music***, Visual****, Atmosphere***, Suspense**. 6/10. (2020.09.24)