Enola Holmes 3      Director: Philip BarantiniCert: NoneStarring: Millie Bobby Brown, Louis Partridge, Himesh Patel, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter, Susan WokomaRunning Time: 1 hr 45 minsYou couldn’t reasonably claim the Enola Holmes films were a cult hit for Netflix. Millions have streamed the first two films in the sequence. But these propulsive, good-natured entertainments deserve a little more critical celebration. Making the best use of Millie Bobby Brown – unofficial face of the Netflix empire – the Sherlock Holmes spinoff combines old-school, funhouse yucks with unexpected pockets of grit. The latest instalment finds Ms Holmes on the point of marriage to the handsome aristocratic Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) in sunny Malta when seven colours of chaos break out all around her. Her brother Sherlock, still in the irresistibly charming shape of Henry Cavill, is kidnapped by some sort of maniac and – not just because she is having cold feet – Enola flees the nuptials to save the great detective (and maybe the world itself).Based on a popular series of YA novels by Nancy Springer, the series gently exercises feminist muscles as our heroine defies Victorian convention in the most daredevil fashion. This time out, she is joined by the bemused Himesh Patel as a more than usually thoughtful version of Doctor Watson. As events progress, the film leans (in ways we shan’t spoil) into a surprisingly acidic critique of Empire.In short, there is a fair bit here to annoy those obsessed with how Netflix allegedly nudges all its franchises towards the “woke” – as revealed in the last film, when black British actor Sharon Duncan-Brewster plays a female Moriarty – but that is not the only reason to recommend Enola Holmes 3. Helena Bonham Carter is back playing a mad mum to Sherlock and Enola. Jason Watkins gives good moustache as a representative of empire in the mid-Mediterranean.The film does have its annoying quirks. The gimmicky animation of newspapers and handbills outstays its welcome within the first 15 minutes or so. There is quite enough breaking of the fourth wall. One might reasonably yearn for a little of the fog and gaslight that is usually so crucial to the Holmes aesthetic. Let us not pretend that Arthur Conan Doyle would altogether approve of this often overheated entertainment.Millie Bobby Brown as Enola Holmes in Enola Holmes 3. Photograph: John Wilson/Netflix [ The Bear, season five, on Disney+: This is a long goodbye with genuine sizzleOpens in new window ]The key cast have, nonetheless, established a refreshing chemistry that should carry Ms Holmes comfortably through another few films. Who could resist the heroine discharging a rifle at a presumed brigand from the roof of a hurtling stagecoach? The right kind of fun.Streams on Netflix from July 1st