Long-awaited big screen version of Tintin - fast, fun and beautifully animated.

Rating: 7/10 (25 December 2011)

Steven Spielberg has had periodic breaks in his directing career – almost four years elapsed between Schindler's List and Jurassic Park: The Lost World; a three year hiatus from Saving Private Ryan to AI: Artificial Intelligence; and after Munich it was three years until the emergence of Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. Spielberg tends to remain very active as a producer and executive producer whilst away from the director's chair, but movie lovers everywhere are always most eager to see what he will next come up with when wearing his director's hat. After the relative disappointment of the fourth Indy film (critically at least, though commercially it performed well), it's good to report that Spielberg is back to pretty good form with The Adventures Of Tintin: Secret Of The Unicorn.
Youthful Belgian reporter Tintin (voice of Jamie Bell) purchases a beautiful model ship at a flea market. Shortly after, he is approached by the menacing Ivan Sakharine (voice of Daniel Craig) who is desperate to buy the model, and who gets particularly aggressive when Tintin refuses to part with it. Slowly Tintin discovers that the model is one of three identical ships made many years earlier to show the whereabouts of a lost treasure. Sakharine turns out to be a descendant of notorious buccaneer Red Rackham. He has dedicated his life to tracking down the sunken treasure of Sir Francis Haddocke, captain of the Unicorn, a 17th Century treasure ship which was attacked by Red Rackham whilst laden with riches. Haddocke sank his ship rather than allowing his precious cargo to fall into pirate hands, but devised the three model ships to act as clues to the position of the vast treasure. Now Sakharine hopes to locate this unimaginable missing wealth. Tintin joins forces with hard-drinking Captain Haddock (voice of Andy Serkis) – modern day ancestor of Sir Francis – and together they race to be first to solve the riddle of the lost treasure.
In essence, Tintin is very similar to an Indiana Jones movie, with its combination of globe-trotting adventures and spectacular action sequences. It is Spielberg's first animated film and the animation is absolutely stunning throughout, with amazing attention to detail. The vocal acting is generally good, especially Serkis whose booze-sodden Captain Haddock is a wonderfully humorous creation. The story attempts to combine elements of three of the original Hergé books - The Crab With The Golden Claws, The Secret Of The Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure. At times, the narrative stretches coincidences to breaking point; at others, the action threatens to become almost too frenetic and overwhelming for the film's own good. But overall, The Adventures Of Tintin: Secret Of The Unicorn is a rip-roaring adventure caper that throws in everything but the kitchen sink for the sake of a good show. On this evidence, viewers will be looking forward to the inevitable sequel with plenty of anticipation.