I marvel at what could have been...

Rating: 8/10 (4 March 2012)

"The adventures of Tintin" was destined to be a 10/10 with its sublime graphics & animations (it is simply staggering) which sets a new visual benchmark for all animated movies to come. The characters are very well researched, Spielberg has captured each and every character's traits to the most minute detail. From the main protagonist Tintin down to even the secondary thugs and goons are in keeping with the main franchise. Thomson & Thompson are exceptionally hilarious & Captain Haddock is captured perfectly from "the crab with the golden claws". The direction is superb, as we have grown to expect from Mr. Spielberg, and so is the voice acting (Jamie Bell in my opinion is the only human being alive who can bring life to the beloved character of Tintin). The movie was made with an obvious love for Tintin and all the magic it wove over the years.
That being said I gave this movie a 8/10, simply because of the story line and the love-hate relationship it gave me. Do not get me wrong it is by no means sloppy, but I just wished that Mr. Spielberg would have stayed a little bit truer to the original franchise rather than trying to mesh "the secret of the unicorn" & "the crab with the golden claws" together. Doing so they have omitted key aspects of both stories (for example the Bird brothers are nowhere to be seen except in the opening sequence, there is no mention of the drug smuggling ring) & have created loopholes in the story (since he hasn't met Captain yet Tintin buys the model Unicorn for himself but the problem is he immediately knows there is a story behind it just because 2 more people were interested in buying it - sounds a bit ridiculous to me) & sequences where the lovers of the original franchise go "Oh! no". However there are modifications to the story that I loved. The move to make Mr. Sakharine the villain and a descendant of Red Rackham was in my opinion a genius move. I also loved all the new action sequences. However I just wished that the creators just picked one story and stuck with it.
I grew up with Tintin books by my side. I know each and every story by Herge like the back of my hand. So I maybe a little bit prejudiced and may sound like an old fart when I say that "The adventures of Tintin" could have been a masterpiece but sadly falls short.
However I am grateful for Mr. Spielberg for giving a fading hero a beginning he deserves...