Enola Holmes 3 Review (2026): Does Netflix's Mediterranean Mystery Solve the Case?

Millie Bobby Brown's detective saga trades London fog for Maltese sunshine in Enola Holmes 3, but does a change of scenery mean a change in quality? Netflix's YA mystery franchise returns with Sherlock (Henry Cavill) kidnapped, a wedding on hold, and Enola juggling romance with her toughest case yet.

Overview

Enola and Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) have arrived in Malta for their wedding, but Enola gets cold feet at the altar just as word arrives that Sherlock has been kidnapped. She abandons the ceremony to track him down, teaming up with Dr. Watson (Himesh Patel) and her chaotic mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter) along the way, all while wrestling with whether she's ready to give up her independence for marriage.

ShowScorer Favs

Millie Bobby Brown & the Ensemble

The cast remains the film's biggest asset. Brown continues to anchor the franchise with the same mix of warmth, wit, and fourth-wall mischief that made the first two films hits, and Partridge's Tewkesbury has matured alongside her into a genuine partner rather than a plot device. Critics broadly agree the chemistry hasn't faded.

“the same high spirits as the earlier chapters”

— RogerEbert.com

The Malta Setting

The Maltese setting is a real upgrade visually, swapping cobblestone London mystery for bright Mediterranean markets and coastline chase sequences, giving the film a fresher look than its predecessors. Reviewers also praised the film for using its new setting to explore colonialism and class more pointedly than the franchise's earlier, gentler takes on suffrage and labor rights.

Himesh Patel's Dr. Watson

Patel's expanded role as Dr. Watson is another highlight, giving the ensemble a steadier, more grounded presence to balance out Enola's chaos-prone extended family.

ShowScorer Flops

A Sidelined Mystery

Where Enola Holmes 3 stumbles is the mystery itself. With Sherlock sidelined for much of the runtime and Enola distracted by wedding-day jitters, the central case feels thinner and slower to unfold than in the previous two entries. Several critics noted the plotting leans too heavily on flashbacks to recap earlier films rather than building new momentum.

“starting to lose steam”

— The Guardian

Weakest Reviews of the Trilogy

The villain and supporting mystery elements land as more functional than memorable, and the pacing, despite a runtime under two hours, drags in the middle stretch. It's telling that this installment has landed as the weakest-reviewed of the trilogy so far, sitting in the low-to-mid 70s percent range with critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and dipping into the low-to-mid 60s with general audiences.

The Verdict: Enola Holmes 3

Enola Holmes 3 is a perfectly pleasant, star-powered watch for fans who've followed Enola from schoolgirl to newlywed, but it's the first film in the series to feel like it's coasting on goodwill rather than earning it outright. The chemistry, the setting, and the social commentary all work — the mystery itself just isn't as sharp as it used to be.

Rating: 3/5

Did the Maltese mystery win you over, or are you ready for Enola to hang up her deerstalker for a while? Drop your thoughts in the comments and give your own rating below!

Sources

• The Hollywood Reporter — "Enola Holmes 3 Reviews Are In" (netflix.com/tudum, hollywoodreporter.com)

• The Guardian — Enola Holmes 3 review by Benjamin Lee

• RogerEbert.com — Enola Holmes 3 review

• Inverse.com — Enola Holmes 3 review

• Forbes.com — "Enola Holmes 3 Review: Why We Need More Enola"

• ScreenRant.com — Rotten Tomatoes score coverage and streaming performance reporting

• Whats-On-Netflix.com — Enola Holmes 3 review

• Rotten Tomatoes — critic and audience score aggregation