Henry Cavill’s Sherlock Holmes Returns With Franchise-Record Rotten Tomatoes Score

Henry Cavill has multiple projects in the works, and his most recent release is a return to Sherlock Holmes. His Netflix murder mystery franchise, Enola Holmes, just returned with a new entry.

With Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown as the titular character, Enola Holmes 3 continues the story four years after the previous installment. This time, it brings several big changes for Enola, but also for Cavill’s Sherlock. Even though the franchise usually boasted great scores, Enola Holmes 3 just set the record for the lowest-rated entry on Rotten Tomatoes.

Enola Holmes 3 Didn’t Impress Critics

At the time of writing, Enola Holmes 3 has an approval score of 64%, just enough for a “fresh” badge. While the rating might fluctuate as more opinions come through, as the current score comes from only 28 reviews, it’s a huge difference from the previous two films.

The first film, which was released in 2020, boasts a Certified Fresh 91% approval score from critics out of 208 reviews. It also featured a less-stellar 71% rating from audiences. The sequel improved the scores on both camps, as 2022’s Enola Holmes 2 features a 93% Certified Fresh score out of 105 reviews, and 79% from the audience.

The third entry is the only one to fall below the 90% mark by a lot. However, it has an encouraging audience score, in line with the previous reception, with a 75% approval score from more than 50 ratings.

Next Best Picture writer Ema Sasic argued, “This film is plagued with so many flashbacks, often scenes that we just saw or references to previous movies, that it’s sometimes hard to concentrate on the actual story at hand.”

ScreenRant’s Molly Freeman argued the third installment is repetitive and that Moriarty and Dr. Watson take the spotlight, writing, “If Enola Holmes 4 is to happen, Netflix must leave Sherlock behind – or make him the main character. Unfortunately for Brown, Enola Holmes 3 isn’t a great argument for why she should remain the lead in her own franchise.”

Among the positive reviews, RogerEbert.com’s Nell Minow argued, “The action scenes are dynamic and exciting, the puzzles are clever, the romance is endearing, and Enola’s commitment to fairness ahead of her society is satisfying.”

CBR’s own Rachel Leishman gave Enola Holmes 3 a positive review, explaining, “While most of the film works as a brilliant unpacking of Enola as a character, the mystery itself is predictable. There is never really a plot beat that is “shocking” or a surprise. (If you’re aware of any Sherlock Holmes story, you can probably figure it out quite quickly.) That doesn’t diminish the story as a whole, though. It’s more than just Enola’s case because she is more than her cases, unlike Sherlock and his famous obsession with his work.”

What Happens in Enola Holmes 3?

Henry Cavill’s Sherlock Holmes Returns With Franchise-Record Rotten Tomatoes Score

In the past two films, Brown’s titular character tried to navigate the world as the less stellar Holmes, and a woman, on top of that. She had to learn that she didn’t have the same brilliant skills as her older brother, Sherlock, but that she is resourceful in her own right.

Enola Holmes 3 is the most personal for the titular character as she goes to Malta for one of her biggest moments of her life: her wedding to Tewkesbury. However, on the way to her wedding, she finds out Sherlock has been kidnapped, and she has to find him.

Enola Holmes 3 brings back Cavill as Sherlock, Brown as Enola, as well as Louis Partridge (Disclaimer, Jay Kelly) as Tewkesbury, Himesh Patel (Yesterday, Tenet) as Dr. John Watson, Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown, the Harry Potter series) as Eudoria Holmes, and Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Dune, Ballerina) as Moriarty. Philip Barantini directs with a script by returning franchise writer Jack Thorne.

Enola Holmes 3 is streaming on Netflix.