By: McKenzie Welch

*Warning: Contains some spoilers*

Many people have heard the name Sherlock Holmes, but have you heard of Enola?

Enola, alone spelled backwards, is a display of what it’s like to live in someone’s shadow, especially when you have the same aspirations. Enola Holmes wants to be a detective, just like her brother, but somehow she always finds herself twisted up in cases much bigger than either she or Sherlock could have ever imagined.

‘Enola Holmes 2’ follows Enola as she navigates through starting her own business, the idea of loving someone else, and a case that continuously involves her in dangerous situations.
Life is hard, but life as a woman in 1885 is harder. Enola is perpetually looked down upon, especially in a detective setting, for both her age and her gender. As she tries to get her business off of the ground, it seems as though the people around her are using all of their force to push her down deeper. It isn’t until she finds a pro bono case for a young girl named Bessie that Enola finds herself with some work to do.

A case of a missing woman turns into a murdersome, blackmail-filled catastrophe quicker than the blink of an eye. Sarah Chapman, who is fighting for the lives of many girls working in a match factory, is missing. But who else is involved?

It isn’t long before it’s clear that Sherlock and Enola’s cases are intertwined. Again. Whilst neither of them are quite happy about the scenario, they do make a good team, and the pair result in plenty of humor-filled moments.

Whilst I won’t spoil the ending of the movie, I will say that it’s quite unexpected. The layout of the film makes it so viewers are practically detectives themselves, working alongside Enola to solve the case.

This movie has both romantic and humorful moments, but the true genre is action. There are many escape scenes, fight scenes, and more that kept me completely enthralled. Despite the main focus being action, there are many important themes that present themselves throughout the film, like being yourself and standing up for what you believe in.

The film was also somewhat based on a true story, as there was a real Sarah Chapman who stood up for the girls who were working and dying in a match factory due to the cheaper phosphorus the factory’s owners had decided to start using. This gave representation for the women working in the factory, and displayed the mistreatment of women in the nineteenth century.

All in all, I gave ‘Enola Holmes 2’ a rating of 4.5/5 stars. I greatly enjoyed the fact that, despite being action, the movie contained moments that were tender and based around family and friendships, which are two things that I find extremely important. Also, I was intrigued by the movie and its happenings the entire time I was watching.

My only critique was that some of the plot twists were fairly easy to decipher as long as you were paying attention, which can make the movie slightly less entertaining, but it was nothing too extreme as to deter me from finishing the movie.

I believe that if you enjoy action movies with moments of romance, comedy, and friendly banter, you should give this movie a try.

You can watch ‘Enola Holmes 2’ on Netflix.