First off, my basic review. This movie was a treat to watch and I sincerely hope we get more. A very decent 4 out of 5 stars and definitely worth your time.
That said, here is your warning. Everything below this has spoilers, so if you don't want to be spoiled, go watch it and then come back.
We're all good now? Good.
First off, Holmes Alone is a joke on the character's name. Enola written backward is alone, which is her shtick. She does alone, has all her life (aside from her mother), and prefers it that way. Even Hot Guy(TM) doesn't break through that unbreakable wall until she realizes that he really does need her help. Which works for the character, since she's supposed to essentially be a Holmes character. As far as acting goes, everyone did a great job, especially the main actress, Millie Bobby Brown. I'm not certain that I can accept Henry Cavill as Sherlock though, even if he did a great job. He's a bit too... broad of shoulder for the role of Sherlock, in my opinion. Other than that physical bit, he played the role well and I wouldn't mind seeing him in the role again.
The plot deals with important issues of the time period, in particular, women's rights, a subject near and dear to my feminist heart, which makes me love it more. Enola's mother has gone missing, leaving her in the care of her brothers, who haven't even returned for Christmas since Enola was very young. Now, they find that Mom has been taking the money that Sherlock and Mycroft have been sending back home and using it for nefarious things. Also, knowing that her daughter would never survive Mycroft's version of TLC, she left her quite a bit of money. Money which Enola uses to try to find her mother who doesn't want to be found. During her daring escape, she saves the life of a young lord on the run from his life. She finds out that Mom was involved with the militant arm of the suffragette movement, but has to put finding her on hold to save the young lord again. She succeeds but is captured and delivered in Mycroft's hands as a result. Her lord saves her from the "finishing school" Mycroft has her sent to, but she convinces him that they must confront the killer so he can take his place in the House of Lords for the upcoming vote on the rights of women.
As far as the plot goes, this is actually a great little plot. It was intelligently carried out for the most part and kept me entertained, even if it was a little obvious as to where the plot was going. In this case, it wasn't a detriment to enjoying the show, which I really appreciated.
However, there is always something that brings it down and in this movie, it was the fight scenes. In particular, if you are a small woman who has been taught to fight and you choose to fight someone, I can understand trying to punch and kick at first. Fighting well takes skill, and so long as there isn't a 100 lbs or more difference between fighters, I'll put my money on the skilled one all the time. However, if their opponent is also a fighter, with at least 50 lbs on that girl and the reach to match, you don't keep trying to fight with your fists. It was established in the opening that Enola was taught to use weapons from her mother. True, the bow and arrow were clearly favored, but I'm pretty sure they were fencing in at least one of those scenes. And yet, Enola never once even goes for a weapon, when she's fighting against an assassin trying to kill the lord. She continues to try to use a throw that she's never succeeded at using before. While I can understand that it was to give her a "stand up and cheer moment", this came off as scripted and irritating, especially when she ignores weapons around her like polearms and forged iron fence poles in favor of her fists. For me, it detracted from the intelligence of her character, which, when it's a Holmes-type character, is necessary to sympathize with them.
That said, this movie is still 100% worth your time to watch.
Have you seen Enola Holmes yet? Do you agree with my assessment here? Let me know in the comments. Also, would you like me to do a few more of these? I don't normally do movie reviews, but if this is something that would interest you guys, let me know.
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