Crookedmouth "(Son of Olaf)" (Local) - See all my reviews
A film by Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg, story by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish and starring Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig and Pegg & Frost. Sounds good, doesn't it? But 'ware! The subject is one of the most cherished icons of 20th century child's story-telling, held dear by pretty much anyone of a "certain age" and transferred from a distinctive style to modern CGI animation. The potential to fail is strong in this one...Briefly, the story is a mash-up of three well known episodes in the Tintin canon, The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn, and Red Rackham's Treasure. Tintin (Bell) meets Captain Haddock (Serkis) and embark on an action packed search for the Captain's ancestor's treasure trove. They are joined by two of the more fondly remembered of Tintin's associates, Thompson and Thomson played by Pegg and Frost, (or is it Frost and Pegg?) and stalked by arch criminal Ivan Sakharine (Craig).The film is produced using performance capture animation and it bridges the gap between a live action film and the straight "cartoon" of the Bernasconi animated series. Obviously Tintin purists will have their objections as the film does take *some* liberties with the "look", but to the ordinary audience member, the end product is both impressive and reverential to Herge. If there are any objections to the CGI animation (and there are a few minor ones) I think it's important to remember that the art and technology of CGI is still developing and it would be churlish to criticise too strongly. One criticism I have heard is that the emotional expression of the characters suffers in the CGI process. I'll have none of that! The characters' faces are expressive and readable and it is quite easy eventually to forget that they *are* CGI and my wife came out of the cinema remarking that the make-up was very good and she didn't recognise Andy Serkis at all!Most importantly, the animation really does keep the faith with Herge's vision (Herge even appears in a small cameo in the opening sequence) in almost every way. The characters are depicted as 3D versions of his original ligne claire artwork (without the lignes) and it's a big relief that the story is set in the 1940's Tintin universe, "somewhere in Europe", plus-fours, bowler hats, rusty tramp-steamers, schmeisser machine guns and sea-planes galore. The film really retains the film noir "feel" of the original and that will be important to Tintin's fans. The "scenery" is, like Herge's comics, sumptuously populated and I was crying out for a remote control to pause and rewind the film so that I could revisit some of the little details that I half-misse d - the covers of magazines carelessly tossed onto desktops, the contents of the desk's partly opened drawers, little cameo sequences that take place at the edge of the screen while the main action is front and centre, the array of faces in The Milanese Nightingale's audience and so-on. The film has *huge* rewatch potential and I will be pre-ordering the DVD as soon as it becomes available for this reason alone!The acting is brilliant and all the performers really bring their characters to life. Bell does a fine job and Serkis and Pegg and Frost convey their slapstick antics extremely well. It's good that the actors' performances don't overwhelm the characters' already well-developed personalities. While I've heard some criticism that Serkis overcooks his Haddock, I disagree - the Captain is a larger-than-life personality and Serkis does a fine job with this wonderful character. I am aching, however, to meet Professor Calculus in a sequel (please let it be Destination Moon)! Ol' Steve has been around a while, now and knows a thing or too about the action/adventure genre and he really lets rip with this one. Indiana Jones for kids? I'll say. The action is breath-taking and at nearly two hours in length it's a rollercoaster ride. The motorcycle chase scene, filmed in a single continuous take is the centrepiece of the film. Spielberg bundles you into the sidecar and takes you on a break-neck race, bouncing you off the walls, leaping chasms and leaving you, several minutes later, sitting in a small cloud of dust with steam coming off the seat of your pants and little cork-screws of sweat radiating off your head. The "Long Take" scene is becoming a bit of a cliche in modern cinematography and, I think, looks a little ostentatious in live action film, but in animation it works rather well and left me exhausted and deeply satisfied. And it doesn't let up - in true Spielberg/Indy style, the film barely slows down for a minute. There's plenty of good, He rge slapstick, not too overdone and obeying the hallowed traditions of visual comedy, and genuine laugh out loud moments aplenty.In the final analysis, The Adventures of Tintin is a top notch family film. It will, like any film of this sort, have its detractors; but what Jackson and Spielberg have achieved is a joyful, exuberant whoop of a film that will appeal to kids of all ages (i.e. anywhere between about 5 and 85) and will offend none but the hardest of Tintin die-hards.Did we enjoy it? Ten thousand thudering typhoons! Of course we did!Six stars
By
Daniel G. Lebryk (Chicago) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)(REAL NAME)
The Adventures of Tintin is an enjoyable well done adaptation of the books by Herge. For somebody that knows nothing about Tintin, this is an Indiana Jones-esque story that is fun and action packed. For the Tintin aficionado, this is an amalgamation of three books with some parts that are needlessly extended. The opening credits are almost worth the price of admission. The roughly 3 minutes of credits go through almost all the stories. The graphics are very similar to the books. Tintin, a journalist, buys a model ship at a flea market. It turns out a lot of other people want that ship. There is a bit of mystery, a bit of action, and treasure hunt in the story. The movie is based mostly on the Unicorn series (The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure) and The Crab with the Golden Claws. I love the homage to Herge at the beginning of the film, he is the artist doing Tintin's portrait at the flea market. My criticism of the film i s the embellishment of a number of scenes. I think the original story left the right kind of gaps in the story to keep me thinking. The film tended to fill in those gaps and lead me too much down the primrose path; I didn't have to think very much with this film. The real pleasure of Tintin is that a person has to think about these stories. The other piece I didn't care for was bringing in Castefiore the opera singer. She really doesn't belong in this story, but Spielberg and Jackson seem to have felt she was a plausible addition. This was filmed in motion capture animation. The film looked really good. That technique has a tendency to look almost too realistic and creepy, not in this film. There was just enough cartoon character to the film, that I never thought this was trying to imitate real life. I saw this in 3D, and can't say it was necessary - I think the film will work just fine in 2D.I really liked the cast. The voices were excellent choices; Jamie Bell is simply fa ntastic as Tintin. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost ( Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz (Widescreen Edition)) are so perfect as Thompson and Thompson. I am a Tintin fan. We have the full DVD set of all the cartoons (these were only available in Canada for a long time and ran on Nickelodeon back in 1991). We also own many of the books. I even have some original antique paper comic books from the early days. I am not a true aficionado of the series, but have loved the original series in French and English. The film is rated PG. Compared to television cartoons, just about any age child could watch this. There's animated violence. The story is a little bit complex, but most children will catch on easily. Almost two years ago I heard that The Adventures of Tintin was in development. I hoped that it would eventually see the light of day in a theater. I am so happy this film was made. It is a wonderful film of my favorite comic book series. This is by far the best filming that has ever bee n done. The DVD cartoons are very literal translations of the books, with exactly the same graphics and almost the same dialog. The two French live action movies are both pretty campy and not exactly the best films in the world. They stick to the book story lines pretty literally. They are only available in French with no subtitles at all ( Tintin: Le Mystere de la Toison D'or / Les Oranges Bleues (French Version)). The Adventures of Tintin is a wonderful film. I enjoyed this film very much.By the way, Marlinspike is a real chateau in France, it is Ch�teau de Cheverny. The chateau is larger than in the cartoon or books - but it is the model Herge used to draw Marlinspike Hall. The grounds look exactly like the cartoon (it's pretty darn amazing to walk up to this Chateau and see exactly what Herge used as his model). The original cartoons are available on DVD: The DVD Box set: The Adventures of Tintin, Vols. 1-5 The Adventures of Tintin, Vols. 6-10The 2011 film: The Advent ures of TintinThe new DVD releases: The Adventures Of Tintin: Season One The Adventures Of Tintin: Season TwoThe Unicorn 2 part cartoon is also available on Amazon Instant Video: The Secret Of The Unicorn, Part 1 The Secret Of The Unicorn, Part 2Red Rackham's Treasure and The Crab With The Golden Claws are available on Amazon Instant Video. I've included links to those two books in the comments section below.
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Tintin (Chicago IL) - See all my reviews
The Tintin graphic novels follow an unlikely protagonist: a mile mannered, sharp-witted young reporter. There are about two dozen of them, artfully drawn, with a recurring cast of colorful characters woven through various tales. The books have been translated in 50 languages. 200 million cop ies have been sold around the world, but, oddly, not many of these are in America. That makes Tintin something of a rare gem here, and he's part of my family culture. I worried that Speilberg would spoil the magic, ruin the brand. Somehow, he didn't. At all. The film is brilliant. Not only did it capture the tone, pace, and geographic sweep of the novels, it also caught so many details -- facial features of minor characters, body posture, personalities, villains, props, gags, cameo appearances, gestures, curses. It is all there. The motion capture style made it almost lifelike, but clearly not. Just like the novels.It's as if the books had come alive. Another clever adventure with colorful characters in foreign lands half a century ago. Nice to see so many old friends, looking good after all these years.
By
Rajesh Motie "Xanatos Planned This Signature" - See all my reviews
It was my younger brother who first got me into Tintin. He told me about some show that he'd watched in French class at school. He often spoke of Tintin, and eventually I looked the series up. It was created by Belgian artist Hergé. Soon I started to check out the comics and my brother and I were watching episodes of the 90's TV series. It's safe to say that we became fans. And I can very happily say that this film captures everything there is to love about Tintin, and then some.It's directed by Steven Spielberd and written by Steven Moffat (Doctor Who), Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and Joe Cornish (Attack the Block). It opens with a Saul Bass-esque sequence in a reference to the Tintin storyline "The Seven Crystal Balls", which is so full of energy and charm that I knew I was in for something special. Indeed, every bit of The Adventures of Tintin crackles with energy and charm. Steven Spielberg's use of motion capture certainly does Hergé's clean line art style justice, and at the same time journeys up the opposite side of the uncanny valley. The movie looks amazing, not just in feel, setting, and time-period, but also because it looks just plain real. Tintin (Jamie Bell) himself is a youthful, do-gooder reporter who does minimal reporting and a lot more adventuring on a seemingly endless budget. Bell manages to portray him more mature than usual, and more than ever he seems like a prepubescent who, through his smarts and skills, was accepted into the world of adults. Here he has quite the knowledge of ships and is able to deduce the century that the Unicorn is from. Tintin is joined by his scruffy dog sidekick Snowy, who helps out as well as a dog can. Soon they meet up with someone who would become a long-time friend of Tintin's; Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis). Serkis's lively perfor mance provides much comic relief, and it's clear that he enjoyed playing the character, but Haddock is revealed to be quite important to the goings-on of the story. Interpol Detectives Thomson and Thompson, (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) who are friends of Tintin, often pop-in to provide their own brand of bumbling inspector comic relief. I really like the way these characters all interact, especially Tintin and Haddock's camaraderie. The villain Sakharine (Daniel Craig), who was but a minor character in "The Secret of the Unicorn", is the weakest link. He's forgettable and you probably won't even recognize Craig, but at least they found a way to connect his character with Haddock's. As Tintin helped to inspire Indiana Jones, you can expect lots of high-flying adventure and over-the-top action to string you along. The action really captures a spirited sense of adventure, and I laughed out loud when I realized just how much I was enjoying myself. They managed to get just the rig ht swooping shots and dizzying angles. I don't think I've seen anything like this happen in the comics and show, but the Tintin world is just the right place for it anyway, as the original stories have had a strong spirit of adventure. I loved the flashbacks to the time of Sir Francis Haddock, when he and his men fought Red Rackham and his pirates, and then the wonderful battle between the two captains, capped off with the explosion of the Unicorn and the showering fall of her treasure. Then there's the all-out race for the three scrolls that goes on for a ridiculously long time, seemingly destroys the entire fictional port of Bagghar, and is awesome for it. But then there are the small things too, like the pickpocket's subplot. This film is a combination of the storylines "The Crab with the Golden Claws" and "The Secret of the Unicorn" ("Red Rackham's Treasure" doesn't really factor in). The film does a good job of interweaving the stories and adding some new elements. Most of the moments from these stories end up occurring, just in different places and contexts. So take all of that and wrap it up in 3D that, for the most part, actually works and that you don't forget is there, and you've got yourself a family film that I heartily enjoyed. And this is only the beginning, now I want to see Professor Calculus, Chang, and more! So, would you like to see some rick-rollicking adventure? A whole lot of Omar Ben Salaad's property being decimated in a crazy chase for 16th century texts? A duel between cranes of the mechanical variety? Good 3D? Then look no further than Tintin. 9 out of 9
By
Ricardo "rapt3" (S�o Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews
I am a huge Tintin fan since I was 12! I used to watch the Nelvana cartoon with my family back in the 90's and I never missed one single episode of it!! Besides, that's the TV series that introduced me to the character.Having grown up with the series, at that time I had no idea that it was inspired on a series of comics written by Belgian writer George Remi (Hergé), so when Internet finally came in the late 90's I started to search for those comics, and boy, I had a hell of a thrill ride!With that said, needless to say that I was eagerly waiting for this movie! Of course there is some other movie adaptations out there, but truth being told, they never made much justice to the supreme creation of Hergé.By the way, Hergé used to say that the only person alive capable of taking his creation to the big screen was Steven Spielberg. And boy, he was 100% right!!This first adaptation of the Tintin adventures around the world is brilliant!! More than brilliant!! It's perfect!! Seriously, the only thing more perfect than this would be i f Spielberg copied the entire stories from the comics to the form of a movie. And don't get me wrong, he did keep the original story by Hergé almost intact in this movie, but being the great filmmakers that he and Peter Jackson are, they decided to have a take on more than one story per movie and put those stories to work together as a whole. Did it work? Oh yeah!In this first movie of a hopeful long series of movies (Hergé made 24 Tintin stories!!) they decide to introduce us to the characters. They introduce to the Tintin rookies the main character, the reporter Tintin and his dog Milou, who are two courageous fellas who are always ready for adventure. We also manage to meet the Dupont twins on this movie, two silly and dumb police officers and Captain Haddock, the longtime friend of the main character. Even the Moulinsart Castle and the lovely Bianca Castafiore was there.The stories chosen to this movie was "The Crab with the Golden Claws" (where Tintin and Haddock met for the first time), "The Secret of the Unicorn" and "The Red Rackham's Treasure", three of the most exciting stories of the Tintin collection.The animation is fantastic, fluent and the digital sets take your breath away. The acting is superb, they got the right cast to act, Andy Serkis as Haddock is spectacular!! And that's another strong point in the movie, the characterization of almost every character on Tintin's universe was kept intact, except for Dr. Sakharin, who in the original stories was never a descendant from Red Rackham, but it was a nice addition and brought more drama and interesting developments to the script.The humor is top notch!! I laughed out loud with the drunk jokes in the movie, in fact, I laughed out loud in the entire movie!! It was fantastic!! Being able to see all those beloved characters from my youth in the big screen exactly the way I used to know them was just great!!As for the story, well it's the story everyone as a fan already know. It was the same story we know from the comics and the Nelvana cartoon, but told differently, so, except for the Sakharin development, there was no surprises at all for me in terms of story.The only character I missed on the movie was Professor Tryphon Tournesol. I just love this scientist. He is deaf, but doesn't know it, so he gets everything wrong and usually causes a lot of trouble, but he have a heart of gold. I was eagerly hoping to see Prof. Tournesol on the movie with his shark submarine, but I guess I'll have to wait for the next one.And boy, I will be eagerly waiting for the next one, the one Peter Jackson will direct. I seriously hope to see more Tintin movies from now on. I'm also really sad that the film went so bad in the USA, I guess US people didn't get the point of Tintin, but I hope they will next time.Anyway, great movie, wonderful adaptation, I hope to see more of this, and I will finish my review by saying: Great Snakes and Blistering Barnacles!! Go for Tintin!!! You won't regret it!!
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