Thesis: The Sherlock Holmes movie is no longer a mystery film, it is an action adventure

starring Sherlock Holmes; a hybrid morphed by Guy Riche.

Lets explore the first scene that shows the adaptation of action adventure genre
seen in Sherlock Holmes. The scene depicts the newly wed Watsons going on their
honeymoon, but was ambushed by Moriartys soldiers. Sherlock predicted this and came
to rescue, which leads to an intense fight scene between Watson and the soldiers. A fight
scene is a core element of action/adventure films. There is many film element used in this
scene that proves the influence of action adventure films, the most prominent been the
camera movement and angles. The scene starts as Sherlock and Watson sets a trap in the
cabin and escape by climbing along the side of the train as it travels at high speed. The
camera proximity at medium shot of Sherlock and slowly zooming out to an extreme
longshot with extreme high angle. Riche manipulated the camera to make the scene more
intense by presenting the audience with exterior of the train, such as tree branches
zooming pass the lenses as well as making Sherlock and Watson appear in extreme high
angle which is often used to depict a shocking and unnatural occurrence. As Sherlock and
Watson climb along the side of train, the camera is in close shot. The framing is very
unstable and consist of zooming branches. The camera proximity serve to capture the
intense expression of Sherlock and Watson in a dire situation, as well as representing the
lack of awareness Sherlock and Holmes have of their surroundings. The shaky framing is
used to amplify the sense of motion. After a series of action, Holmes and Watson takes
refuge in a different cabin, where Holmes insist that Watson lay on the floor with him.
That was humorous due to that fact Holmes was dressed as a woman, which provided the
comedy relieve before the next intense scene. Right after, we see the scene where a
soldier loads a Gatling gun. Here we have numerous extreme close shot of the gun as it
reloads, such as on the bullet, in the barrel, etc. This was used to prolong and dramatize
the process of reloading and create tension before the gun is actually fire. The rapid cuts
from the camera is commonly technique in action films. Lastly, after soldier have fired and
jam the gun due to a trap set by Holmes earlier, Watson takes a shot at the soldier
through the hole Gatling gun made through the cabins. The camera takes a shot reverse
shot through the hole created by gun fires. It allows audience to show the shot through
Watsons perspective, as if putting the audience in the hands of Watson as he takes an
important shot which will save their life. The camera techniques used in this fight scene
clearly demonstrate the influence of action adventure film on the Sherlock Holmes film.