The world of Sherlock Holmes has been explored in literature, films and TV series for decades. However, the Netflix original movie Enola Holmes, starring Millie Bobby Brown, takes an interesting approach to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic work. It might also feature the hottest Sherlock Holmes in film history.
Sherlock Holmes first appeared in the 1887 detective novel, A Study in Scarlet. The novel also marked the first appearance of Dr. John H. Watson, Sherlock's sidekick and the narrator of his stories. Between 1891 and 1927, The Strand Magazine published 56 short stories featuring the detective. This was in addition to four novels.
All of Doyle's material serves as the canonical basis for every Sherlock adaptation being produced today. That includes the Guy Ritchie movies featuring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, respectively playing Holmes and Watson. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly also made a movie where they played those two characters, but the less said about that specific film, the better.
Television has also proved to be quite fruitful for the literary duo. Set in the modern New York, the CBS series Elementary ran for seven seasons, with Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock and Lucy Liu as a female version of Watson. During that run, BBC One also had their own critically acclaimed series. Sherlock was set in modern London and had Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes, while Martin Freeman played Watson. Elementary and Sherlock were distinctly different series.
This list barely plumbs the depths of Sherlock Holmes-related media produced in the last decade or so. Most recently, Netflix released Enola Holmes, based on The Case of the Missing Marquees by Nancy Springer. It follows Sherlock's teenage sister as she moves to London in search of their missing mother, Eudoria. Enola proves to be every bit the mental equal to Sherlock, outwitting him on at least one case so far.
Enola Holmes has received great praise, especially for Brown's performance. However, the major shock is Henry Cavill's thirst-inducing portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. That's saying a lot, since heartthrobs like Downey Jr., Cumberbatch and Sir Ian McKellen have all portrayed the character on screen. But that's what happens when Superman plays the world's greatest detective.
Cavill plays the role well, giving Sherlock the air of brilliance tempered with just enough smugness to make the character feel authentic. He also brings a bit of emotion to the part, particularly in Sherlock's obvious soft spot for Enola. They are cut from the same special cloth, which is probably why their less interesting brother Mycroft (Sam Claflin) hates them both so much.
At the same time, Cavill's scenes make it seem like the costume department had an internal bet as to how tight they could get his Victorian-era suit before it either became anachronistic and/or flat out burst. The point is: Cavill does a great job playing Sherlock Holmes as an uncharacteristically secondary player and looks amazing doing it. One has to imagine a spinoff focusing on him would do well in certain circles, but not so much in others.
Future Enola Holmes films absolutely need to keep Sherlock secondary to the franchise's titular character. That being said, there is more that can be done with him. Enola needs her own Dr. Watson, and that could be Sherlock. It would be interesting to watch him work in the shadow of his own sister, being supportive while struggling with not being the center of attention for once. Plus, more scenes with Cavill and Brown together could only be a good thing.