Surprisingly fun adventure, packed with action, comedy and suspense

Rating: 7/10 (26 May 2012)

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn is based on Herge's famous Belgian comic from 1929-76. It is directed by Steven Spielberg, master of adventure, and produced by Peter Jackson, who brought the technological wonders of The Lord of the Rings. It also stars a host of actors including Jamie Bell as the titular character, as well as Daniel Craig, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Toby Jones and of course motion-capture expert Andy Serkis in the co- lead role. Not fully-animated but not live action, this film uses the motion-capture technology of the slightly nausea-inducing Polar Express and Beowulf. However, with Peter Jackson at the technological helm, the motion-capture is superb.
The premise involves Tintin, an ambitious and mystery-loving reporter and his dog Snowy who uncover a mystery involving the famous disaster of The Unicorn. This leads them to the drunk Captain Haddock (Serkis), the only one who knows the secret. However, villain Daniel Craig is also after the mystery. This leads to some absurdly fun moments.
Every actor is fantastic in their roles, especially Serkis' Haddock and Frost and Pegg's bumbling detectives. The film felt a lot like Indiana Jones, especially with Spielberg and John Williams' amazing score. Writers Joe Cornish, Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright deliver plenty of witty dialogue and the action scenes, most notably the motorbike chase in Morocco, had me buzzing with excitement.
The bad points of the film is that it is VERY fast-paced; a lot of things happen for a one hour and forty minute film, so it feels a bit rushed and it can be easy to lose track of the story. Nevertheless, Tintin is a fun, suspenseful and immensely enjoyable film, surprising me for its PG rating. A great Spielberg mystery adventure.