The Adventures of Tintin Review

Think of The Adventures of Tintin as a sort of consolation prize for those who were disappointed with the fourth Indiana Jones movie. It seems a tad arbitrary for the legendary Steven Spielberg to tackle the big-screen adaptation of a Belgian comic series, and the film has lost many of its cultural flourishes because of this. However, this new version of the classic tales is a solid piece of material in its own right, liberally offering up visceral action and a well-scripted mystery.

Tintin centers on Tintin, a young reporter with a knack for getting himself into danger. We’re given a glimpse of the character’s past through some old newspaper clippings pasted to his walls, chronicling past adventures with his trusty canine sidekick, Snowy. Rather suddenly, Tintin stumbles upon his next big story when he purchases a model sailing ship, the Unicorn at a market. The ship holds deeper implications, Tintin discovers, as he uncovers historical ties to the Unicorn’s downfall, during which it supposedly carried a secret, valuable cargo. Tintin teams up with Captain Haddock, who’s got a vendetta against Sakharine, a shady man searching for the Unicorn as well. 

The setup itself is basic enough, but it’s backed by a puzzling historical mystery with a couple clever twists and turns along the way. As a backdrop for the story, Spielberg takes advantage of the constantly evolving motion-capture technology dominating today’s scene. The animation style coinciding with the tech is stunning to look at. Huge production values dominate the film’s visuals, with even the tiniest details realized; from sand kicked up as the characters tread through it to individual strands of hair blowing in the wind, obvious care was put in to crafting this world. 

Unfortunately, one of the film’s biggest strengths is also a weakness. While some characters, particularly Tintin and Sakharine, appear as realistically proportionate humans, others boast huge noses, ears, elongated heads and other exaggerated features. Further adding to the inconsistency are the constantly photo-realistic backgrounds, which could easily be mistaken for shots from a live action film. These oddities can’t ruin the stunningly rendered style, but it is admittedly odd to one minute have Tintin staring straight into the camera, his face easily mistakable for that of a real human being, and then the next be greeted to the sight of Haddock’s huge, disproportionate nose pasted between two squinty little eyes, and then the next for a character to be spun around in a sea-plane propellor a la Looney Tunes. 

Tintin as a character is a rather dry archetype of a treasure-hunting, globe-trotting, crime-fighting cinema hero (remind you of any other Spielberg characters?), but this inherent shallowness is actually played to good effect, as it allows the film to focus on the assets which carry the main plot, primarily, the supporting cast. Captain Haddock, realized perfectly by Andy Serkis, is an instantly likable partner, playing off Tintin’s seriousness to spectacular comic effect. Daniel Craig’s Sakharine isn’t particularly interesting, but he is consistently menacing and provides a great overarching threat throughout the film’s runtime, which is really all he needs to be. 

This is a Spielberg film, and boy, does it show. Tintin’s action scenes are, far and away, the film’s strongest point. They’re expertly crafted, riveting, fast-paced and incredibly fun to watch. Spielberg’s transition to the realm of animation hasn’t done a thing to his trademark knack for rip-roaring adventure. Nearly every action sequence, from an exciting  (and amusing) plane ride through a thunderstorm to a hilariously spectacular chase through the streets of a scenic Moroccan fishing town, had me utterly speechless.

While Tintin doesn’t provide the emotional depth of some of the director's finest offerings, it is a stylishly produced holiday treat that only Spielberg could have pulled off with such grace. There is surely potential for a series here. I’m not dying to see where the character relationships go, but I sure wouldn’t mind seeing how the filmmakers plan on topping Captain Haddock burping into a plane engine to escape the heroes' certain death. And who knows? They might just pull it off.

FInal Score:

7.5/10

“Very Good”