Great Visuals Make the Film

Rating: Null/10 (4 January 2012)

Adventures of Tintin, The (2011)
*** (out of 4)
Steven Spielberg's first animation movie is also his first in 3-D. Based on the popular comic character, reporter Tintin (Jamie Bell) and the drunken Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) try to discover the three missing pieces that will lead them to a treasure. I must admit that I wasn't aware of the comic, the characters or anything dealing with the subject until I realized that Spielberg's name was attached so obviously I'm not the main target that this movie was going for. Obviously many, many people love this character even if the film didn't go over too well here in America. Considering I wasn't familiar with the subject I left the theater rather amused at how much of a good time I had. I will say that I wasn't overly impressed with the 3-D effects and I had wished that I had gone for the regular version and saved a few bucks. I will also admit that I didn't care too much for the story but it certainly wasn't bad enough to keep me from enjoying the film. What I enjoyed most about the movie is the non-stop action and downright amazing visuals. Many people have compared the film to RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARC, which I think is fair but what this movie does is go all out and deliver the type of action and stunts that not even Indiana Jones could pull off. It seems that our two heroes get into every type of trouble imaginable from a ship battle, to being in the sea alone on a small boat to the most amazing scene, which has them on a small plane flying through a deadly storm. I'd be willing to say that this scene alone was worth the price of admission and the level of entertainment here is so strong that what follows almost feels like a letdown. I thought the two actors did a fine job in their roles as did Daniel Craig in his part. Again, I didn't get totally caught up in the story but this might be due to me not being familiar with the work. Still, the terrific direction by Spielberg and the amazing beauty of the visuals make this one worth seeing.