There is a mystery to unravel, but Ritchie focuses more on action and adventure—not as big a stretch as you might think, as Watson makes references early in the first Holmes story, “A Study in Scarlet,” to Holmes being a boxer and expert swordsman.
Fittingly, both fictional man and factual monster appeared in their own variations in A Study in Scarlet, and both turned out to be equally adept at selling periodicals while gaining permanent positions in popular culture.