Li 1

Superhero vs. Action Adventure

The detective genre was first popularized by Conan Doyle; a century later, modern
audiences are still reading and watching the detective story. Conan Doyle's methodical sleuth
has been stirring imaginations ever since even now, the Holmes canon continues to grow.
(Lynn) What elements are added into detective stories that allow the detective genre to grow
continuously? Of course, it is the mash up of superhero and action adventure genres into a
detective story. A detective story with action-filled investigation excites viewers in the 21
st

century. It is important to know that the action genre and the adventure genre are two different
entities; however, there are overlapping elements in the two. A well respected movie critic from
the AMC website, Tim Dirks, explains that there are lots of physical stunts and activity,
possibly extended chase scenes, races, rescues, battles, martial arts, in Sherlock; episode one
Season one A Study in Pink, involves much physical activity and extended chase
scenes. Dirks also explains that an adventure film [has] exciting stories, with new experiences
or exotic locales Rather than the predominant emphasis on violence and fighting that is found
in action films. Other than the action and adventure genres, the superhero genre film, Sherlock
Holmes, directed by Guy Ritchie, is incorporated with the detective genre to give rise to a new
era of detective fiction. According to the well-known creator of the Marvel Universe, Stan Lee,
in What is a Superhero, he mentions that a superhero is a person who does heroic deeds and has
the ability to do them in a way that a normal person couldnt. He also mentions that a person
must possess a special power of his own in order to be a superhero. No matter how film makers
twist the detective genre in order to fit the modern standard, the conventions of the detective are
still apparent throughout Sherlock and Sherlock Holmes. In The Reader and the Detective Story
The Different Story, Dove mentions that there is a general formula for every detective story,
Li 2

and the detective story is transitory, without long-range goals or purposes; it is fundamentally
an intellectual undertaking; it is recreational, intended primarily to relax; and it is a disciplined,
delimited literary form.(2) Also, he mentions the structure of a detective story always involves a
detective, a story that contains some kind of investigation, complex problem, or mystery, and
finally, the problem which is always solved by the detective. The modern day Sherlock Holmes
combines action adventure with the classical conventions such as Holmes deduction, Holmes
map awareness, and the red herring while the superhero convention is used to modify Holmess
deduction ability as a super power in order to achieve a brand new effect of the new detective
era.
Classical conventions such as: Holmess deduction, red herring, and Holmess map
awareness, the conventions give rise to the modern day detective story while having action
adventure genre and cinematic elements mixed into the detective story. In the BBC series
Sherlock, A Study in Pink is an introduction of the modern day Sherlock Holmes. This episode
starts off with four suicides; during their investigation, Holmes and Watson are able to lure the
killer to a public area. Upon contact with the killer, Holmes and Watson start to chase the cabby
that is driving away with the killer in it. This scene involves some fast-paced action, with
adventure into the detective story. Once they spot the cabby, the background music changes into
a mystery type. The camera turns into an extreme close up shot on Holmes, and this reveals that
he is observing. This is one of the classical conventions used in The Sign of Four in which
Holmes becomes very observant and knowledgeable so he can make the correct deduction. The
cinematic elements hint the viewers with Holmes deduction ability. Upon Holmes revealing to
Watson that the cabby contains the killer inside, they are outside in a matter of seconds with a
close up shot on Holmes and a first person point of view of Holmes looking at the cabby. This
Li 3

demonstrates that he has his target in mind. Shot reverse shot is used in this scene to create
tension between the person in the cabby and Holmes. From Holmes point of view, audiences see
the passenger in the cabby looking back at the camera as the cabby quickly drives off. This is
one of the classical conventions in a detective story which the killer reveals himself somewhere
during the story. However, the passenger is not the killer, but the driver is the actual killer. At the
moment the cabby drives off, the action genre kicks in with an intense moment where Holmes
gets hit by a car while chasing the cabby; the music changes from mystery to a fast-faced tune.
Two types of shots are involved in this scene which the cameras are always behind or in front of
Holmes and Watson while they are running at full speed. This is to create the action as they are
hunting down the cabby. When the camera is on their back, it showcases that the audience is
with them on the forceful chase which aids the action involved in the chase. Once the cabby
drives off in the distance, Holmes pulls out a map of London from his head to find the shortest
way to cut off the cabby. This is one of the conventions that are in the Sign of four by Conan
Doyle which Holmes knows every street and place in London. This convention is twisted to fit
the modern standard, because in modern time inventions like the GPS and Google maps, they
allow the viewers to relate to Holmess map awareness of London. In this scene, it shows a
digital map of London and the possible routes to take in order to catch up to the cabby. In terms
of the editing techniques, the street signs reveal what Holmes is thinking while going through the
intense chase. The chasing involves many of the long shots and extreme long shots, and this is to
demonstrate the distance that they are running through. The viewers actually go into Watsons
point of view to witness the danger that they are going through, and the handheld shot is used to
indicate the action of the characters which adds the effect to the detective genre with action and
adventure. While chasing the cabby, Holmes and Watson run into a dark alley which amplify the
Li 4

adventure of unknown territory. Deep focus is used on Holmes and Watson to create suspense on
what they might encounter. During the chase, Watson makes mistakes like running towards the
wrong direction as Holmes corrects him. This further exemplifies that Holmes rarely makes any
mistakes. All of the action filled chases are used to mash up the action genre with the detective
genre. By doing this, the detective genre gets an upgrade from the original Conan Doyles
detective story, and the convention is mostly modified into a modern standard.
Guy Ritchies Sherlock Holmes modifies the classical convention such as Holmess
power of deduction as a super power. The movie begins with the discovery and capture of the
supervillain in this movie. Upon a series of abnormal events, Holmes investigates the
unexplained events along with Watson, and they fight off many epic battles by themselves. The
scene that fully demonstrates the convention and the new superhero actions is when Holmes and
Watson are going to investigate a laboratory. After their investigation, two workers show up and
Holmes deduce that they are here to burn down the building. As they call in the boss, the camera
is focused on both Watson and Holmes. A close up shot showing their facial expression reveals
Watsons fear in what is about to happen. Meanwhile, Holmes facial expression does not
change. This indicates that Holmes is confident that he will be able to handle them without any
effort. The extreme close up further demonstrates the heroic look of Holmes. His fearless look
amplifies the superhero personalities. The convention of Holmes power of deduction is still
present in this film. He is able to deduce the motives of the two workers by their equipment. The
scene quickly changes from detective genre to the superhero genre. Holmes rarely gets into
fights in the Conan Doyles version, but in this film, they mash up superhero genre with the
detective story. This is a huge twist from the old conventions. First, the camera is in on eye level,
because the film makers want to contrast the height between Holmes and the boss that he and
Li 5

Watson are going to fight. Watson picks the normal looking enemy while Holmes takes on the
boss. As the fight ensues, the background music quickly changes into a wild-west music. The
camera changes from Watson to Holmes indicating that as they are fighting a different battle.
Their fighting style reveals the convention of Holmes and Watson. While Watson fights with
brute force, Holmes uses objects and his intelligence to fight for him. He picks up random object
to aid him in the fights. During the intense fighting, there is a trace of comedy mixed in to
enhance how much Holmes are able to take them on a straight on battle. Holmes is being playful
with the enemies to showcase how overpowering he is. According to Stan Lee, a superhero must
possess a power; in this case, intelligence is Holmes natural power. He uses techniques and
special tools to defeat the enemy and to save Watson from the troubles. In the final scene of the
fight, Holmes superhero characteristics is what adds the new effect to the detective genre. He
can both outcompete the enemy mentally and physically. The Superhero characteristics of
Holmes give the viewers an action packed investigation. Ultimately, Holmes not only defeats the
boss, and he also rescues Watson at the same time. The switch from detective genre to an action-
fill Superhero genre is what makes the detective story shine today.
In conclusion, Sherlock and Sherlock Holmes by Guy Ritchie both use convention from the
Conan Doyle text, and they mash up other genres to break away from the traditional detective
genre. In Sherlock, they add action and adventure. In the movie, they add in a Superhero genre to
excite the audience by using fighting scenes and heroic moments. Both versions twist some of
the conventions to a modern standard, while other conventions are left unchanged.



Li 6



Work Cited
Sharkey, Betsy. "'Sherlock Holmes' Review: Crime-fighting Duo Shines in Sequel."Los Angeles
Times. Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 2011. Web. 21 May 2014.
(http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/16/entertainment/la-et-sherlock-holmes-20111216)
Dirks, Tim. "Action Films." Action Films. AMC, n.d. Web. 21 May
2014.(http://www.filmsite.org/actionfilms.html)
Dirks, Tim. "Adventure Films." Adventure Films. AMC, n.d. Web. 21 May 2014.
(http://www.filmsite.org/adventurefilms.html)
Conan Doyle, Arthur. The Sign of the Four. Seattle: Amazon Digital Services, 2013. Kindle
eBook. Online.
Dove, George N. The Reader and the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State
University Popular Press, 1997.
"Stan Lee on What Is a Superhero - OUPblog." OUPblog. Oxford University Press's, n.d. Web. 21 May
2014. (http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/stan-lee-on-what-is-a-superhero)
Neary, Lynn. "The Enduring Popularity Of Sherlock Holmes." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 03 June 2014.
(http://www.npr.org/2011/12/19/143954262/the-enduring-popularity-of-sherlock-holmes)