Every streaming service has its set of hit project, Millie Bobby Brown has starred in both movies and (of course) Stranger Things for those with a Netflix subscription. While there's still discourse about Stranger Things' finale, she stars as the title character of the new mystery threequel Enola Holmes 3. But after the first two movies' Rotten Tomatoes scores were bangers, I'm shocked by the discrepancy with the new movie. Let's break it all down.
Enola Holmes 3's trailer teased the main story of this new installment: while Enola is preparing for her wedding to Tewksbury, her famous brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill) is kidnapped. She must solve the mystery while also contending with her upcoming role as a wife and Lady. On paper its sounds killer, but not all critics agreed.
Enola Holmes 3's Rotten Tomatoes Score Doesn't Compare To The First Two
Millie Bobby Brown has been promoting Enola Holmes 3, and the streaming movie is now officially the newest Netflix movie. Unfortunately, the threequel is seemingly failing to impress critics the way that the first two did. At the time of writing this story, the third movie is sitting at just 67% on Rotten Tomatoes from 15 reviews.
While not a terrible score, it stands in stark juxtaposition to the previous two installments in the mystery franchise. The 2020 original is certified fresh at 91%, while the sequel is even higher at 93%. Enola Holmes 3's score might change as more reviews are added to the aggregator website, but this is definitely a change that's going to turn heads. So what do critics actually think of Millie Bobby Brown's newest movie release?
What Reviews Of Enola Holmes 3 Are Saying
Reviews for Enola Holmes 3 are a mixed back, which is likely why it's got a middling (but not rotten) score on RT. The Wrap's William Bibbiani claimed that the third movie is simply not as exciting or attention-grabbing as the previous two installments, writing:
The first two 'Enola Holmes' films were helmed by Harry Bradbeer, who brought a galloping gait to this franchise. Even when the plots were all bluster, even the runtime felt padded, the earlier movies were fast-paced, effective entertainments. That brisk energy is absent in 'Enola Holmes 3,' now directed by Philip Barantini ('Adolescence') with a bog standard, generic delivery that only occasionally remembers how excitable these movies used to be. The first two “Enola Holmes” movies were appealingly exhausting. The third just feels exhausted.
Benjamin Le from The Guardian also seems to think that the Netflix franchise is beginning to "lose steam" after the first two movies. The outlet's review pointed this out by saying:
What had worked was a mixture of sprightly energy, engaging-enough mystery and some admirably well-handled history and life lessons for its younger female audience. There are intermittently successful bits of all three again but not enough of any to make this one glide in quite the same way, a safely passable franchise perhaps reaching premature exhaustion. The British playwright Jack Thorne returns as screenwriter, fresh off his Adolescence success, and brings that show’s director, Philip Barantini, with him, taking over from Fleabag’s Harry Bradbeer. Anyone hoping for Enola to take on the dangers of toxic masculinity or for the film to be one uninterrupted take shall remain disappointed, however, Barantini proving to be a safe yet rather anonymous pair of hands.
Then again, it's not like all critics are coming down hard on Philip Barantini's new movie. THR's review by Frank Schek acknowledged some of its short comings, but overall seemed to land on a positive impression of Enola Holmes 3. It reads:
Enola Holmes 3 does suffer from slow patches, including too many discussions about relationship issues and such romantic montages as a lyrical swimming sequence featuring the lovebirds Enola and Tewkesbury resembling the cover of a teenage romance novel. But the film redeems itself with its strong anti-colonialist message that provides a surprisingly serious element to the otherwise escapist goings-on.
Meanwhile, Kate Erbland from IndieWire took aim at the way the movie's mystery was handled, as well as how it was shot and edited when compared to the first two Enola Holmes movies. In her words:
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.
Despite some issues with the third Enoles Holmes movie, Variety's Tomris Laffly praised the movie as a whole, especially the chemistry between Millie Bobby Brown's title character that the villainous Moriarty. The review reads:
Still, 'Enola Holmes 3' makes it worth our while, especially when fiery villain Moriarty (a terrific Sharon Duncan-Brewster) returns in earnest in a punishing scheme, the details of which would be unfair to spoil. In physically and emotionally demanding fight and chase sequences, Duncan-Brewster and Brown flex their muscles and spirits, playing two evenly matched opponents for the ages, with real stakes and wounds, across well-choreographed action sequences.
Now that the movie is out for everyone on Netflix, it should be fascinating to see if the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes ends up being different from the critics'. What's more, the latter's score could end up changing as more reviews are submitted to the website.
Audiences can judge for themselves now, as Enola Holmes 3 is on Netflix as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll just have to wait and see if the streaming service green lights a fourth installment of this mystery franchise.
