The Adventures of Tintin

Voices of: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Toby Jones
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Rating: PG
Genre: Animated, Action, Adventure
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Reporter Tintin (Jamie Bell) searches for the secret behind a sunken ship, the Unicorn.

Review:

Tim: I was really excited to see The Adventures of Tintin. While Tintin isn't very popular in the United States, he's quite big in other parts of the world. Plus, this film combined the talents of Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, plus featured some pretty impressive motion capture. The movie is definitely a good adventure story, but it has some limitations as well. Overall, I was entertained and liked the movie, but I wouldn't call it particularly strong, either.

This film was in a bit of a difficult spot. They certainly needed to pay tribute to the original cartoon Tintin and the style in which he was created, while also making a modern, exciting movie. I've read that Peter Jackson convinced Spielberg to do this in motion capture, instead of live action. I go back and forth on this decision. The world of Tintin certainly looks astounding with the motion capture- the animated world makes you feel like you're living inside a Tintin comic, which is definitely a good thing. However, the animation also lowers the excitement and suspense level for me. This film features some terrific adventure scenes, but none felt all that exciting because they weren't happening in real life. I like the animation decision, but at the same time, I think it puts some artificial limitations on what this movie could achieve.

The cast is good, but all are unrecognizable. Jamie Bell does good work as Tintin. The character looks exactly like you would expect him to. Andy Serkis was very impressive as Captain Haddock. Haddock brings much of the humor and felt like a huge presence in the film. This definitely comes from the impressive work Serkis did. I wouldn't have known Daniel Craig was in the movie without reading about it, as I could not have recognized him any other way. Still, he makes for a pretty menacing villain.

I really enjoyed the sweeping adventure story. It takes Tintin all over the map, including thrilling scenes on a huge ship in the middle of an ocean, a small plane over the desert, a motorcycle chase through a city, and more. Hollywood doesn't make enough good adventure movies, so I was really appreciative of that aspect of the film. I felt hungry for a good adventure movie that takes our protagonists around the globe and finds them in a series of thrilling sequences. The Adventures of Tintin certainly delivers in that regard.

While the movie is full of action and excitement, I felt like the stakes weren't all that high. The animation lowered the stakes to a certain extent, but the story doesn't really do a great job of creating a powerful impact. I was entertained, but I never really cared about Tintin, Haddock, or the events of the film, other than from a removed viewing standpoint. Spielberg didn't do enough to really draw me into the story.

Still, The Adventures of Tintin is a good movie, and I had fun watching it. I was a bit disappointed the movie didn't do better in domestic theaters, as I now wonder whether they will make a sequel. I am a huge fan of adventure movies, so I certainly hope this isn't the last time we see Tintin.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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