A great adventure film for all the family. To be precise : a great family film for all the adventure...

Rating: 9/10 (30 October 2011)

Steven Spielberg's "Tintin and the Secret of the Unicorn" is an entertaining action-packed and mystery-filled adventure film that, beyond all these epithets, respects the spirit of Herge's adventures of Tintin, the classic worldwide famous, comic-book series, and take this from a fan who grew up reading the albums, rereading them in French and English, and watching the animated features. In seven words : Steven Spielberg made a great Tintin movie.
Recently, I've been very critical toward Spielberg, but I knew he had a particular fondness on Tintin's stories, and you could tell by watching some of his films, the "Indiana Jones" series to say the least, remember Short Round in "Temple of Doom" who was inspired from Tintin's best friend Chang. Interestingly, Indy's profession as an archaeologist was as much as a convenient excuse for living exciting adventures as Tintin being a reporter (after all, we've never know for which newspaper he ever worked) but in this film, Tintin mentions his job several times, and his curiosity is less guided by a blind appetite for adventures than a strong and professionally oriented desire to know the secret of the Unicorn. Yes, he's an adventurer but his quest of the truth is what justifies the adventures, not the opposite. And the strength of the film is in its ability to be more a mystery than an adventure film.
Now, I'd like to get to the point that would inspire most criticism from the fans, or let's say, the most purist of them. For intellectual honesty's sake, or in the name of this Tintin-esque quest for the truth, I know some aspects will bother the hardcore fans. In fact, as it often happens for movies adapted from comic books, the story is a combination of many plots devices extracted from different albums. The problem is that the "Secret of the Unicorn" is only the first opus of a two-part story, the second being "Red Rachkam Treasure", which happens to be one of the most exciting and escapist of all Tintin's adventures, one of the funniest, and MY personal favorite. I was so impressed by the film that I wanted it to be followed by a sequel set overseas. But Spielberg chose to combine the story with the "Golden Crab Claws", the famous album where Tintin meets Captain Archibald Haddock.
The idea per se, isn't a blasphemy as long as it respects the spirit of "Tintin" stories, to those who remember the other Tintin films, many of them took shortcuts with the albums, while some of them, were based on original screenplays and not faithful to that unique ambiance exuded from the iconic comic-book series. Spielberg tactfully used the greatest elements of both albums with the redemption of Captain Haddock, turning from a drunken loser in the beginning to the proud, larger than life and ferocious descendant of the Knight François de Hadoque, famous for his epic outbursts of rage, his thundering typhoons and other blistering barnacles. As soon as Haddock makes his entrance, the movie takes a new dimension, with the growing complicity between the two characters as a heart-warming core.
Still, I can't help but feel frustrated for the underuse of "Red Rackam Treasure", which would have made one hell of a story. Especially for the whole twist that concludes the adventure, Spielberg's "Secret of the Unicorn" is less a treasure hunt than a treasure secret hunt so  why not make a sequel with the actual treasure hunt? Well, I try to reassure myself figuring that Spielberg might do another film involving seven crystal balls, Incas, or a red and white rocket flying to the moon, who knows? Or maybe he wanted the story that introduces Haddock, but "Red Rackham"'s introduces us to Professor Cuthbert Calculus, who'd have been a better comic relief than Snowy or Thompson and Thomson. But let's no be so purist, comic-books have codes that movies don't have and vice versa, a director, and a Tintinologist like Spielberg is allowed to take some distances.
So, even, if the movie flirts sometimes with fantasy, or create many dizzying and exhilarating sequences begging for a 3D version, everything would have been pointless without the constant respect toward Herge's legacy. I appreciated that the film was clearly set in the 40's, which provides the perfect mood for such noir and exotic-set adventures, as much as I love the dazzling cinematography, and the inspirational message of the film. At the end, adults were thrilled, the Tintin fans were trying to recognize the subtle hints of other adventures, including a nice cameo-homage of Herge (will you catch him?), the non fans were enjoying a nice film, and children were laughing at the more slapstick parts, and Tintin's adventures had their shares of slapstick too. Not that it was funny every time, but there was the perfect dosage between action, fun, and remembrance of how great Tintin's comics have always been.
So, I'd like to thank Spielberg for having finally fulfilled his long-life dream. Now, we can finally say that Spielberg made a Tintin movie, which was the greatest reconciliation between two arts that seem to only unite for super heroic films. Tintin is another kind of hero, many will find him bland or asexual but this have always been Tintin's personality, a sort of idealistic exaltation of youth's adventurous spirit, but whatever "boring" you'd fin in that Yin, you have the Yang in Captain Haddock's colorful personality, and both contribute to one of the greatest dynamics that structure the film. The facial expressions are extraordinarily made, conveying Herge's particular 'clear line' style  they were drawn differently, but you could tell it was Tintin, Haddock and Snowy, on a pure technical achievement, the story is a success.
But on the field of storytelling, of thrills, and excitement, the film is a triumph that will delight the hearts of all the fans from 7 to 77.