Spielberg has spoilt Tintin

Rating: 5/10 (26 November 2011)

I went into this film expecting the worst but hoping for the best, as an avid Tintin fan as a kid I always kind of felt, and now feel, that he should be left in his original form and not tampered with. Firstly, a lot of people have complained about really basic things like the voices, cinematography or music. None of that stuff really bothered me, I actually thought the voices were pretty good (apart from perhaps Thomson & Thompson) adaptations, people are always going to have had created their own imaginary voices for the characters but I think this was done well and pleased most people. The cinematography was pretty decent, though it felt very inappropriately Indiana Jones-esc in the last quarter, and the music was absolutely fine - I don't think Tintin really needs an Indie like score, it wouldn't really work.
Several things, however, really REALLY bugged me. Firstly; the film is supposed to be a combination of three books (The Secret of The Unicorn, The Crab With the Golden Claws and Red Rackham's treasure) but I just didn't see the point in that at all. The bits in the film which are good are the bits which are just direct copies of Herge and I just don't see why Spielberg couldn't have just followed exactly a book, or two books, especially given that any of the books is effectively a storyboard and script in itself. All that happens as a result of this is a wobbly first half of the film, which isn't that bad, and then a really really crappy second half, that utterly misses the original books - the Bird Brothers aren't mentioned once and the main 'baddy' is someone, who in the Secret of The Unicorn, plays a very very minor role. There's two action scenes which are both straight out of Indiana Jones but that, at least, for me is the complete opposite of what Tintin is supposed to be - he's supposed to be a very precise, intelligent, cunning character not a loud Hollywood directed moron who blows everything up. There is also an extremely clichéd "never give up, never let anyone tell you blah blah blah blah" type speech from Haddock to Tintin that's just awful; firstly because he could easily have not put it in and more importantly because that, again, is not what Tintin is about and it never happens in any of the books.
All of those things, and other minor details, just make the film feel really unpolished, as though it was a real lacklustre effort that went into making it and at its best its completely average. This actually made me really angry, Tintin is a legendary character who deserves the utmost respect and that just wasn't given to him at all. What is more I just don't get why Spielberg felt the need to warp the story in the way that he did because it ruined it completely. Most importantly though, I fear Tintin could really be mutilated for a new generation of readers, I would bet that most kids going to see this film (and Tintin is, as much as I love it, for kids!) haven't read any of the books and they've been given this completely false image of a really amazing, fun character. Go and see it, because you kind of have to, but prepare to be let down really badly.