The Adventures of Tintin Review

The Adventures of Tintin is a solid if not slightly dry action/adventure in the vein of Indiana Jones. Based on the series of books by Hergé, and masterfully directed by Steven Spielberg, Tintin does almost everything right but just enough wrong not to earn my love. The movie, filmed through a process known as performance capture, is a thrilling ride from start to finish, with some truly awe inspiring action, including a chase through an Arabian town that takes place in one 5 minute long unbroken tracking shot, and unfortunately only one interesting character. Tintin, played by Jamie Bell's thirst for mystery and adventure is unquenchable, but that's really all Spielberg gives us on the character. He is a purely an expository force, pushing himself through the film by chance and circumstance, constantly expressing out loud, sometimes to his dog Snowy, what's happening around them. This kind of storytelling shows a lack of respect for the audience, but it is with the real star of the show, Captain Haddock, played by Andy Serkis that Spielberg shows us he has the utmost respect for his audience. Haddock is a drunk of the highest class, and a descendent of honorable ship captain Sir Francis Haddock. Haddock's alcohol fueled behavior is a major plot point in the film, his breath literally doubles as rocket fuel. This movie takes place in the real world, where real things, sometimes bad, really happen. Haddock is a drunk. Tintin carries a gun. A man is shot to death in his very doorstep. The film has real consequences. This is a good thing, it raises the stakes and makes for a much more interesting, and believable experience. The story couldn't be more straightforward; Parisian reporter Tintin sets off on a journey to discover the secret of the lost ship, the Unicorn, captained by Sir Francis Haddock himself. Along the way he meets the drunken hero, Archibald Haddock, and the icy villain, ironically named Sakharine. Sakharine played by Daniel Craig isn't particularly interesting as a character but Craig brings enough palpable menace to the table to make him utterly watchable.