The Adventures Of Tintin: My Thoughts

'Adventure-seeking Belgian reporter Tintin and surly Captain Haddock race to recover a treasure that was lost at sea four centuries ago. Meanwhile, the malevolent Red Rackham is determined to beat them to it.'
Being a long time fan of the Tintin comics (I read my first Tintin album at the age of 6), I was naturally drawn to the idea of there being a movie made out of my beloved comic book series. When I heard that both Peter Jackson AND Steven Spielberg were making it, not to mention the combined writing talents of Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish working on the script, I was practically giddy in my seat. How the heck did Tintin get such a stellar (practically match-made-in-heaven) production team working on his movie? Tintin must have more fans out there than I thought... 

As to be expected, the result of this team-up is great. I think it blends the swashbuckling adventure of both Tintin and Indiana Jones together with the spellbinding action of a hollywood blockbuster. Not to mention it's 100% faithful to it's source material, and something that Herge himself would approve of. Steven Moffat helped write the script and it shows, the film never stops to take a breath, is filled with classic one liners, and Captain Haddock even says 'GERONIMO!' at one point! I also saw a Fez....It's just a fun, fast paced adrenaline fuelled ride that starts and doesn't halt until the very end. One of the action scenes in particular, set in the fictional Moroccan city of Bagghar, is done in one single take and is quite frankly one of the best chase sequences in cinema history. The cast is stellar as well, with both Andy Serkis, Jamie Bell, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg and Daniel Craig donning the mo-cap suits to bring Herge's characters to life. The motion capture is fantastic and gives the film a distinct visual style that set's it apart from the other films of it's genre like 'The Polar Express' or 'A Christmas Carol'. Watching it on Blu-Ray is a sight to behold. Again, while the film is essentially a string of action set-piece's the story in-between is both witty and fun enough to stop it from being simple eye-candy. The characters are all charming, but Captain Haddock, the alcoholic Sea Captain played by Andy Serkis simply steals the show with every scene he's in, and the film knows it, to the point where Tintin essentially becomes a secondary character. If you've read the comics though, it's pretty much that way as well. Daniel Craig makes for a good baddie as Red Rackam/Saccarin, and comes off as both menacing and likeable all at the same time. The Score by John Williams is equally fun and adventurous, you just feel happy by listening to it. And so do my speakers, too. 

I hate to repeat myself, but The Adventures Of Tintin just screams fun with every second that it's on the screen. A complete blast from start to finish, packed with ingenious action sequences and a great sense of timing. It's young Indiana Jones essentially, so Spielberg was perfect for the job. The film is one hour and forty seven minutes long but it feels like half an hour. It really does. Cudos to everyone who made this movie, Herge would truly be proud. The Blu-Ray's special features are really well done too.


PRO's:


+ Fantastic action set-pieces
+ Great sense if humour and overall style
+ Great animation
+ Faithful to the source material
+ Catchy music
+ Captain Haddock!


CON's:


- Feels like it's only half an hour in length?


Overall Score/Opinion: Very enjoyable, 8/10.