Review of The Adventures of Tintin (2011) by Halfwelshman — 01 Apr 2012

Despite using state-of-the art motion capture technology, at its core The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is a good old-fashioned family adventure film. It's extremely good-looking, funny and entertaining throughout, and has plenty of references to Herge's original books to keep fans happy.

The motion-captured cast are on top form: Jamie Bell makes a compelling Tintin, Andy Serkis is perfect as the good-natured but permanently drunk Captain Haddock, Daniel Craig makes a serviceable villain as the scheming Sakharine and Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are quite simply a comic joy as the incompetent pair of detectives Tomson and Tompson.

The real star of the film though, is Tintin's hyper-intelligent dog Snowy, who manages to out-perform every other actor, and appears to be the most full of life, despite being the only character to be computer animated without the use of motion capture.

The film also boasts another classic John Williams score and some top-notch writing from Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish. I must admit, I do question the need for the film to be made using motion capture animation - it does seem like more trouble than it's worth.

The amount of effort everyone involved has put in, the complexity involved with shooting the simplest sequence with this technology all in the name of bringing Herge's work to life on the big screen, but surely it could have been done in live-action or in traditional animation, or even in modern computer animation a-la Pixar? It does at times feel a little like an exercise in what is possible rather than what is necessary.

I'm also very very tired of 3D films, and found the film much easier to watch in 2D at home. Also the story itself does loose a little energy in the final act, but luckily not enough to have a particularly negative impact on the film as a whole.

Tintin looks and sounds fantastic, is very funny, is full of heart and energy and is surprisingly intelligent for an animated blockbuster. It is an exercise in spectacle, and sometimes this focus on spectacle does get in the way of story, and the mystery elements of the film are a bit predictable, but it remains a pretty decent film thanks to the passion that went into making it.

I'll be intrigued to find out where Peter Jackson takes the story next...