Much Better Than Expected

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2011)

I'm an American Tintin fan – yes, believe it or not, they do exist – and when I first heard that Steven Spielberg was at the helm of a three-dimensional rendering of Tintin, Haddock, Snowy, and their world, I became somewhat worried. First of all, the creations of Hergé seemed so fitting for traditional animation. Transforming the characters and putting human eyeballs in the circles of Tintin's eyes felt wrong. On top of that, I was afraid (particularly after the trailers came out) that the film would just be a vapid wild ride that failed to do justice to the well-loved comics.
But, now that I've seen it, I confess I liked it much more than I thought I would. It isn't perfect, but it's spirited and fun – and mostly in keeping with the original comic books. The opening credits introduce Tintin and Snowy in silhouette and give watchers a taste of the boy reporter's adventures. After that, the film switches to motion capture. I was surprised at how well this worked. It felt for the most part like the same environment evoked by Herge, only morphed seamlessly into three dimensions.
The story is a lively and rip-roaring yarn full of charm and humor. It follows Tintin as he teams up with Captain Haddock to discover the lost treasure of the captain's ancestor, while staying one step ahead of the icily devilish Mr. Sakharine. Episodes from "The Crab with the Golden Claws" are interspersed with the general plot of "The Secret of the Unicorn", but everything comes together fairly smoothly. The film is mostly true to the essence of its source material, even if it is not entirely faithful to the letter. I, for one, was overjoyed to see the old sea dog, Haddock, so endearingly drunk. (Andy Serkis stole every scene he was in.) I was glad to see Tintin so adventuresome. The Thompsons were a riot in their slapstick clumsiness. And it was a delight to see various Tintin side characters pop up – like Alan, Nestor, and most especially, the beautifully shrill-voiced Bianca Castafiore.
Nonetheless, there *were* certain action sequences that were overly excessive. The chase in Morocco careens this way and that so crazily that it soon becomes inane. Characters tumble and plunge and things wheel and whirl about in a way that strains credulity. By becoming so overblown, it kills suspense. How can the audience be exhilarated in a section of the film where the most madcap occurrences go on – and characters suffer little to no injury? It jars viewers out of the spell worked elsewhere in the movie. If such scenes were toned down and given some semblance of reality along with being exciting, they would have worked better, in my opinion.
(Also, the filmmakers add a plot twist involving the ancestry of the antagonist that I find tacky and unnecessary. Plus, in my eyes, it was poorly handled and turned out as a rather awkward revelation. See the film to fully understand my meaning.)
All in all, though, I'd recommend Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin". If you're a fan, you may have a bone to pick here and there, but should still enjoy it. If you are unfamiliar with Tintin, you ought to be pulled in anyway by his entertaining escapades – and I hope your introduction to him encourages you to seek out Hergé's original works.