On Screen: “Enola Holmes 3”

Enola Holmes 3

Who knew that Sherlock Holmes had a clever, crime-solving younger sister?

YA author Nancy Springer invented her, propelling two delightfully subversive movies in the past couple of years. Which is why I was disappointed that Netflix’s “Enola Holmes 3” seems to be suffering from franchise fatigue.

Born to eccentric Eudora Holmes (Helena Bonham Carter) long after Sherlock was already grown and named Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) — which is ‘alone’ spelled backwards — she now has her own detective agency in London and is engaged to Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge).

“Great stories begin with a wedding,” Enola intones as this story begins.

But — on the morning of her lavish nuptials on the picturesque Mediterranean island of Malta — Enola worries that embarking on a traditional marriage to a titled aristocrat and becoming a ‘Lady’ might mean losing her identity.

Amplifying her angst, she discovers that her brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill) has been kidnapped, along with Lord Tewkesbury’s mother (Hattie Morahan), igniting a mystery that entangles Enola, accompanied by Dr. Watson (Hamish Patel), with the disreputable history of British colonialism.

Always observant Enola spots the first clue in Morse code on Sherlock’s mirror — elementary, of course — which leads her into a search for sunken treasure — namely, ‘missing’ bars of gold — and, eventually, a slugfest with her perpetual nemesis, villainous Moriarty (Sharon Duncan-Brewster).

Known best for her role as Eleven in “Stranger Things,” now 22-year-old Millie Bobby Brown embodies feisty Enola whose feminist views are quite uncommon in Victorian England.

Drolly scripted by Jack Thorne, it’s directed by Philip Barantini (“Adolescence”), who keeps the fast-paced action flowing, even though Sherlock’s role is little more than a cameo and the plot twists are a bit more predictable and, therefore, less satisfying this time ‘round.