Adventures
of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, The
Rating:
****/*****, or 7/10
Steven
Spielberg's first foray into the realm of motion capture, for which
he used the classic comic adventures of Hergé's Tintin as the
source material, combining elements from such beloved tales as The
Crab with the Golden Claws, Red Rackham's Treasure and of
course, The Secret of the Unicorn itself. Using real human
performances from accomplished actors, the otherwise fully animated
characters seem that much more convincing, making it a fine blend
between animation and live-action, about as close to the original
comics as an animated movie could hope to get. The young reporter
Tintin (charming Jamie Bell) stumbles upon a model ship, the Unicorn, at a
flea market, and soon gets caught up in a plot to find the location
of the actual ship that sunk hundreds of years ago, loaded with
treasure. The sinister Sakharine (Daniel Craig) is after his model
and several others like it, to solve the puzzle of their
predecessor's wherabouts on the bottom of the ocean. Tintin and his
loyal dog Snowy team up with the ever drunk Captain Haddock (Andy
Serkis, the undisputed king of mo-cap), a descendant of the Unicorn's
commander, to keep Sakharine from achieving his goal and find the
treasure first, for which they'll have to brave storms at sea, plain
crashes, scorching desert crossings and the excessively high pitched
voice of the Milanese Nightingale, Bianca Castafiore. Meanwhile, back at home, bumbling
inspectors Thomson and Thompson (Nick Frost and Simon Pegg) – no
relation! – are out to catch a shrewd pickpocket. Tintin may be the
hero of the piece, but it's Haddock, Snowy and the two policemen who
deliver the best lines, funniest gags and most memorable characters
overall, just as in the comics: compared to them, Tintin himself remains fairly dull overall. Anyone who has ever seen an Indiana
Jones movie and kept thinking of Tintin will be pleased to
know Spielberg has perfectly carried over the tone of his Indy films
to this first Adventure of Tintin, which is also quite suitable for a
younger audience (and should adequately warn kids against the dangers
of rampant alcohol consumption). Producer Peter Jackson is supposed
to direct the next installment, but working on The Hobbit
trilogy has thus far kept him from doing so. Hopefully he will pick it up soon, since it would be a darn shame if there ended up being just a single Adventure of Tintin.
Starring:
Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig
Directed
by Steven Spielberg
USA/New
Zealand: Colbumbia Pictures, 2011
