Review of The Adventures of Tintin (2011) by Jens S — 24 Aug 2012

Let me start out by saying: I am only marginally familiar with the comic books, so I had no expectations from that side. I am sure there are many nods to the source material here in the film I may not have noticed, but you can tell that there was a lot of detail and love put into this movie.

Much more than the trailers made you hope for. Which leads us to the technical aspects: The graphics are gorgeous. Landscapes, textures, faces, eyes never looked better. Yes, you're still watching an animated film and you're aware of it most of the time, but the characters' expressions are real enough to make you care for them.

Especially Captain Haddock is both fantastic looking, fun and lovable. While the story starts out slowly and rather humble, things get more adventurous by the minute. There are several scenes where you expect John Williams to burst into the Raider's march and it would fit so well.

So it's true, this film does many things right that Indiana Jones 4 did not: it feels like a wonderfully old-fashioned adventure film with great action sequences, exotic locations, treasure hunts and has its heart at the right spot.

Especially the escape from the sultan's palace is one of the most spectacular and fun action sequences of recent years. Here Spielberg makes perfect use of the technical possibilities of both a computer generated environment and 3D to create an uncut race that's absolutely mind-blowing.

And while he's at it he also creates a breath taking sea battle the last two Pirates of the Caribbean films wished they had. Once the film's over, which happens way too fast, you can't wait to see more adventures of these characters.

No one with a soft spot for adventure films should think they can afford to miss this.