In a fantasy Victorian world where Sherlock Holmes is real and a famous detective, Enola, his younger sister, is an aspiring sleuth who follows a trail of a missing girl and ends up discovering something far darker. Part adorable, part annoying, Millie Bobby Brown resumes her role as the indomitable Enola, still a minor according to her brother, and Henry Cavill returns as Sherlock, her brother. A few other familiar faces are visible, including Louis Partridge as Viscount Tewkesbury and Helena Bonham Carter as Eudoria Holmes, Enola’s mother.

Juggling a few different issues in different parts of the story, Enola encounters many things – from match girls to women’s rights, reform acts and strikes – events and incidents keep on connecting with each other, sometimes a bit too conveniently. It makes her cross paths with her brother who warns her about turning into him, but he does hold her in affection and arrogance, as siblings often do. Their bickering is a nice distraction from an otherwise slightly distraught mystery that isn’t too riveting to begin with, but is steadily peppered with broad hints that dissolves the mysterious elements and makes this much more a film about social justice. Cavill’s role is, however, woefully short here.

Enola wanders through the streets and ballrooms with the same hoydenish gait, learning as she moves, and a particularly hilarious scene is where she tries to use a hand fan to ‘talk’, miscommunicating almost immediately. Partridge as Tewkesbury is a rather nice match here – he does seem to have grown up and has become responsible. David Thewlis (Sandman) as Superintendent Grail is a treat to watch – a menacing threat to Enola’s safety.

Although the story is mostly entertaining, there are too many things that need to be addressed, too many problems to solve in a short span of time. The director could have perhaps considered slowing down the pace a bit, or reduce them, which created confusion at times, especially when it came to the character played by Bonham Carter, Enola’s mother who has been away from her. Enola Holmes 2 is a good watch in parts, but could have been better without too many distractions as well as improbable situations that defies logic and history simultaneously.