FILM: The Adventures of Tintin

[crocodile 8,012]

The picture of Tintin along with his dog Snowy is deeply ingrained in the back of the minds of many ingabitants of Europe, in the same way as Disney characters are part of the American heritage. I've never read a single comic book about the character, but certainly knew of his existence. The fact that the computer animated adaptation was in preparation didn't excite me one bit. Not only I'm not a fan of the technology, but also the fact that it is being developed as a potential franchise by two Hollywood giants made me worried about keeping the integrity of this, very European, creation.

The film is really good, to my surprise. Probably closer to Raiders in spirit than the last Indiana Jones outing itself. In fact there are so many nods to that classic film in there. It's been a while since Spielberg delievered such an energetic and effortlessly fun adventure. It has to be said though: this is NOT a movie with grander than life narrative of apocalyptic proportions. It fact it seems like matinee serials in that respect. You know, a new adventure every week. This is also a kid's film, lighthearted and old-fashioned. And no, not in a Hook sense. The audience seemed to have a lot of fun as they laughed a lot. The performances in the film a very good all around. Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis give their characters a lot of heart. Daniel Craig gets a little less to do. It's easy to forget that's him in the part.

I thought the animation looked really nice. I was impressed with the artificial lighting, which give the film a very retro, alightly noir-ish vibe (think Ratatouille). You can tell it's been made with 3D in mind as many shots are designed to show off the technology (camera movement and busy background stuff). Spielberg had fun with this one, clearly. Inventing dynamic shots and being practically limitless I watched it in 2D though and it looks good as well. The only thing that bothers me about these things is that the eyes of the characters still feel disturbingly "dead" to me. Don't get me wrong, it's not Beowulf again, but I there is still about CG animation that I find off-putting. This is minor issue though.

There are not as many action scenes as one might think and it starts rather slow. But when it gets going - it delivers. Ironically, some of these sequences recall the infamous Kingdom of the Crystal Skull jungle chase. I'm referring mostly to the scene in which the protagonists chase after the birds towards the end of the picture. What makes the difference is the fact here this kind of crazy action sequence makes sense, whereas in the previous Spielberg film it did not. After all this is "a cartoon" and all that stuff is allowed. This might be one of the frenetic scenes Spielberg has ever created. And yet it works! Another fine setpiece is the swashbuckling Unicorn flashback, a crucial scene in which we learn a lot about the central "McGuffin".

The pacing of the film is very good. It's the briefest film in Spielberg's repertoire and yet, with all of the stuff in it, it never really feels rushed. At least, not terribly. Even if the film quickly jumps from one thing to the next, it starts to make some sense as the plot progresses. Believe me, there is quite a bit to cover in these 100 minutes. From the pickpocketing thief, through Haddock's background to the smaller stuff like the brief appearance of Bianca Castafiore. And, like in Raiders, none of it seems forced. That's the kind of thing Spielberg used to do best and and seemed to be embarassed with in the past 20 years. He manages to avoid two things that usually go wrong in his works: ruining the third act and his trademark sentimentality.

The music. All of the essential music is on the album. The score, not surprisingly, is a big part of what makes the movie so endearing. No, there is no big statement of Tintin's theme in it. In fact, I would say it's the Unicorn's theme that's driving the movie. And while I wouldn't say it is exactly the loudest mix, it certainly better showcases music than the likes of Prisoner of Azkaban, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull or Star Wars prequels. The music is there and, for the most part, you can hear it. The film feels so much more classier and old school because of it. All the nods to the old Williams help to sell it (like the big crescendo at 5:38 into track 9 on the album). The Adventure Continues is the OST's The Adventures of Mutt, basically. It is the concert arrangement of the theme that appears in one scene of the film. Picking Pockets is the first cue of the film and a French-like accordion source cue. The title sequence (as presented on track 1) harkens back to Catch Me If You Can title sequence (both musically and visually) and segues directly into that cue so they kind of feel like one thing. In other words: it's not a huge loss, album-wise.

I had a fun time, probably moreso than from watching any other blockbuster film this year. Better even than Deathly Hallows and Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, the only other two films of this kind I liked. The secret of the film is that it doesn't have to be huge to entertain. In fact it feels much smaller scope-wise than most films (like Pixar's Up). It doesn't try to hammer it over your head with its self-importance, as many things do these days. It's great to see a character following the adventure, because he choses to do so and not because "he's meant to". In fact that makes Tintin one of the few character these days who actually is a classic protagonist. I liked that.

Hope it does well, because I'd like to see the second one.

Karol

[Incanus 5,714]

A great review Karol! The movie can't open soon enough here! It sounds like a wonderful experience.

[mahler3 478]

The film is really good, to my surprise. Probably closer to Raiders in spirit than the last Indiana Jones outing itself. In fact there are so many nods to that classic film in there. It's been a while since Spielberg delievered such an energetic and effortlessly fun adventure.

My sentiments exactly! Good review.

[crocodile 8,012]

Thanks!

Karol

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn

Simply, the movie Indy 4 should have been. (and I like Indy 4)

Even though it uses 2 technologies Spielberg was new 2 (motion capture and 3D) and it's an animation film, something the director has never dabbled in himself (though he's produced plenty of them) it really feels like a Spielberg film.

It actually feels like Steven Spielberg unbridled. No longer restricted by the limitations of filming in the real world. Most directors would not be able to handle that, and go to far, or simply stich to what they know and don't go far enough.

Spielberg loves setting up complicated shots with lots of camera movement (the action scenes in Minority Report or WOTW for example, were the camera revolves around the car). This film must have allowed him such freedom. I'm sure he probably put shots in their that he had wanted to do for projects for years, but were not feasible.

Again, KOCS feels like Spielberg is dutifully making a film the rest of the world expects him to make, This one feels like it's coming from Spielberg himself. It's an itch that's finally being scratched.

the characters, they feel right. Jamie Bell has the probably thankless role of playing Tintin, a hero without that much a a personality. He plays the character with a quiet urgency. He NEEDS to discover the secret of the unicorn, he regards Haddock with some impatience, which feels just right. It's actually a spot on performance that will possibly go unnoticed.

Andy (Mo Cap) Serkis has fun with Haddock, playing him larger then life, at times pitiable, at times annoying, always lovable.

Daniel Craig is so good as Saccharine that you won't know it Daniel Craig. He's a strong villian, slimy, clever.

The look of the film!

No, it does not look much like Herge's comic, but it's a good translation of it to a very different medium. The characters look larger then life, but never grotesque, like in the comics, the environment they inhabit looks realistic, but more colourful, just like in the comics. It's a perfectly valid way to adapt Herge's clear line style.

The look of Tintin himself. The initial images and clips that were released worried some people, including me. In the comic Tintin doesn't have a very expressive face. So I was worried having the character with a fully animated, semi-realistic face would feel weird.

I think they cracked it. After the initial few minutes you just get completely used to how the character looks. Same for Haddock. The uncanny valley was crossed successfully. (something Beowulf never managed).

The story is good. Could have been an Indiana Jones film, at times the movie feels like one. I do like that Tintin isn't out to save the world. He's just looking for answers, and wants to see the bad guys caught.

The music. The score really clicks once you've seen the film. Yes John Williams does not re-invent himself, and yes I wished the film would have had a killer theme (all the themes are good, none of them are brilliant). Funny to see that for the pirate fight even John Williams now uses heavy low chords ala Pirates Of The Caribbean. The main theme of the film is definatly the Unicorn theme, which is used throughout in many guises, from artefact theme, to full out action extravaganza.

This is a great little film, very loyal to Hergé in spirit (though he was more forgiving or Haddock's drinking). Great to look at, even in 3D, and you don't have to like it despite itself, like with Indy 4.

***1/3 out of ****

[Elmo Lewis 6]

I saw the film last week in a press screening, but I didn't want to write a review to avoid an excessively hyperbolic rant, as is usually the case after seeing a film like this. I saw it again yesterday:

The Premise: Your choice. Either Spielberg being fun for the first time in 18 years or Europe's most famous adventurer receiving insanely lavish production values.

The Best: The visuals, in every sense. The technology is astounding, the design is a more than adequate translation of Herge's drawings, and Spielberg's direction is as inventive as ever. He clearly indulged himself on this one. Notice the frequent reflections on any kind of glass, the impossible perspectives, the transitions (the Unicorn sailing on the dunes stayed with me for hours after the movie ended)... He does it, however, in a way that doesn't hurt or distract from the narrative. It either improves it or adds to the sense of fun.

The Worst: It has the nonchalance of a grandfather telling a bedtime story.

The Music: Without giving it much thought, I'll have to go for the introduction of Bagghart..

The Image: After a fantastic opening credit sequence full of images from the comic book, Tintin is given (by Herge himself) a protrait of him with his familiar, drawn version. He holds it for a while. A classy way of visually passing the torch.

The Scene: Haddock's flashback was my favorite scene from any Tintin comic book ever and it is treated with more than justice here. But I also loved the Falcon chase. A scintilating continuous shot that goes on and on and on until you turn blue from not breathing.

The Line: "How's your thirst of adventure, Captain?" "Insatiable, Tintin".

The Character: Captain Haddock. I'm not his biggest fan, but Andy Serkin's performance (he's like the Meryl Streep of motion capture, there's nothing he can't do) is full of energy, nuance and charisma. The arc he was given was too sugar coated, but it was cleverly threaded with the source material (which never had any character arc of any kind).

The Geek Thrill: Tintin's previous eight adventures shown at the beginning in the front pages of the newspapers he has at his house.

The Audience: Kids. It's not a dumb or puerile film but those seeking transcendental adventure will be disappointed. Those with a healthy inner kid are in for a treat.

The Hidden Value: As Stefancos brilliantly put it: Spielberg, unbridled.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The Hidden Value: Spielberg, unbridled.

Hey, that's my line, stranger!

We pretty much agree. I don't think the story is told with a nonchalance though.

Notice the frequent reflections on any kind of glass, the impossible perspectives, the transitions (the Unicorn sailing on the dunes stayed with me for hours after the movie ended)... He does it, however, in a way that doesn't hurt or distract from the narrative. It either improvises or adds to the fun.

I prefer Spielbergs long flowing shots to the current fashion of shaky-cam and 1 second cuts.

There are indeed a lot of shots of reflections etc... I suppose usually mirrors, windows, glass is the bane of any director, and to be free of it, to use it to his advantage.

[Elmo Lewis 6]

The Hidden Value: Spielberg, unbridled.

Hey, that's my line, stranger!

So that's why it came to me so easily. Duly edited the post to appease your ego.

I don't think the story is told with a nonchalance though.

I couldn't get past the lack of tension, dramatic or otherwise. It was a tad too light for me. Maybe I'm just getting old (even if I'm just 26, it's cruel how noticeable being out of the 18-25 demographic becomes) for mere fun.

Notice the frequent reflections on any kind of glass, the impossible perspectives, the transitions (the Unicorn sailing on the dunes stayed with me for hours after the movie ended)... He does it, however, in a way that doesn't hurt or distract from the narrative. It either improves it or adds to the sense of fun.

I prefer Spielbergs long flowing shots to the current fashion of shaky-cam and 1 second cuts.

There are indeed a lot of shots of reflections etc... I suppose usually mirrors, windows, glass is the bane of any director, and to be free of it, to use it to his advantage.

Must be a comic book trait? I don't read much of those, outside the Tintin ones.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

So that's why it came to me so easily. Duly edited the post to appease your ego.

There was a time when that used to be enough...

I couldn't get past the lack of tension, dramatic or otherwise. It was a tad too light for me. Maybe I'm just getting old (it's cruel how noticeable being out of the 18-25 demographic becomes, even if I'm just 26).

Maybe a side effect of this being animation. I never believed Nemo would die either....

Must be a comic book trait? I don't read much of those, outside the Tintin ones.

No. I really think it's just Spielberg having fun with his new toy. But I do like that he never goes overboard and let the visuals swamp the story. Spielberg is above all a story-teller.

[Jilal 569]

I'm very interested in the second movie.

[Josh500 1,615]

I'm very interested in the second movie.

You can say THAT again!!!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yeah, can't wait till its 2016!

[Josh500 1,615]

Although my interest in the second movie will drop considerably if it turns out that JW will not be scoring it...

[Jilal 569]

Jackson will probably use JW.

Otherwise, JNH or HS.

[Elmo Lewis 6]

Jackson will probably use JW.

Ah. Our first glimpse of what this forum is going to be like for the next five years.

[Josh500 1,615]

Ah. Our first glimpse of what this forum is going to be like for the next five years.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Josh500 1,615]

You guys should know by now that JW is not going to score the sequel. Desplat is gonna do it. And no worries: he'll use Hedwig's Theme.

Nope. That's for the third movie.

For the second movie, JW will bring in his good friend Williams Ross, who will be in charge of arranging the score from the first movie and conducting the whole thing.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

I wouldn't mind ross scoring the sequels... if JW dies...

He has plenty of themes to work on and develop to last an entire trilogy

[Jilal 569]

I'll do Datameister's post:

[Josh500 1,615]

I'll do Datameister's post:

[Josh500 1,615]

Not only I'm not a fan of the technology, but also the fact that it is being developed as a potential franchise by two Hollywood giants made me worried about keeping the integrity of this, very Europpean, creation.

Great review, crocodile, but you know you spell that EUROPEAN!

[crocodile 8,012]

Yeah, you're right. Don't know why I keep doing that. It somehow looks more hip to me.

Karol

[mahler3 478]

Not only I'm not a fan of the technology, but also the fact that it is being developed as a potential franchise by two Hollywood giants made me worried about keeping the integrity of this, very Europpean, creation.

Great review, crocodile, but you know you spell that EUROPEAN!

Good to see you variate the emoticons these days, Josh. In the past everything was a: which was actually kinda funny, especially when it was totally out of context! :-o)

[Elmo Lewis 6]

I just happened to remember the image of Tintin's quiff surfacing on the ocean as he swims towards the plane, quite a la Jaws. I wonder if I should have mentioned it in the Geek Thrill part of my review.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yes I remember that one, very funny.

[SF1_freeze 131]

Tintin was a great ride. I have seen the film last wednesday and enjoyed it very much.

The only critizism i had was that in my cinema the music was oddly mixed a tad too low for my taste. But i will see it again on an IMAX screen with a far better sound system. I guess my critizism will vanish by then. The difference between IMAX and usual sound systems is huge.

My favourite character was Captain Haddock. Andy Serkis portrayal and the amazing motion capture animations really stood out. His eyes were the most lifelike i have ever seen on a digital character. Snowy was always a fun to look at and he often had his own "scenes" in the background. For example finding the big bone in the desert...

The Spielbergian scene transitions and longshots showed a level of creativity missed since Minority Report on his part. It really showed that he had lots of fun making this movie. Sadly the desert location came a little short for my taste. I would have hoped to get a longer travel part but it all went by so fast from the crash landing to the approach in Bagghar.

[Josh500 1,615]

Snowy was always a fun to look at and he often had his own "scenes" in the background. For example finding the big bone in the desert...

Yes.

The first time the heroes are in Marlinspike, did anybody else wonder why Snowy was able to subdue that vicious killer dog so quickly...?

And wasn't Snowy fighting with a rat over a sandwich at one point!? What's that al about?

[eitam 364]

There is also a nice little scene between Snowy and a dromedary at the beginning of the military fort sequence, in the foreground for a change...

[Melange 446]

Watched it today. Lighthearted (last movie I saw in the cinema was Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).

As I watched I kept on thinking (particularly later in the film) that it was like one of those chain reaction experiments.

Haddock was hilarious. In the Tintin comics he comes across as rather angry fellow, and the movie brought more dimensions to him. Snowy was cute. It was interesting how they chose not to have snowy 'thinking aloud' as in the comics, with his usual wish that it all just be over so they can go home.

All my attention was there at the start of the film but had begun to drift a bit just before Tintin tries to get the key from the sleeping sailors (when snowy is after the sandwich) and haddock then uses the key to open the alcohol room in the ship. I was starting to drift in the few minutes preceeding that and wasn't sure if this film was going to hold my interest for the duration, but then all of a sudden it just took off and never stopped from that point on. As others have mentioned, the transitions were clever (next scene growing out of a drop of water, etc).

In some ways I felt a bit disconnected with the film all the way through though, due to it being digital. Profoundly detailed and realistic at times, but still I couldn't shake that it was a 'creation'. It felt that if this had been a normal movie, I would have felt far more involved than I was. At the same time it's clear that they could not have pulled off the things they did, with standard shooting. The bulgy nose of haddock for example. You could have made the actor up in it but it would have looked stranger to do that than just use digital. Overall a lighthearted fun film.

Like Stefan, I did miss a really stand out theme. It seems like an opportunity has been missed there for a really memorable theme for the character that would have you going to see the next movie to hear the variations on it, as in the Indy films. Still though, William's work was great and was very noticeable all the way through.

Oh, and Mr Silk's (the pick pocket) face looked like it was based on Spielberg's own face. Anyone agree? (or has this been mentioned a 1000 times already?)

[Elmo Lewis 6]

Snowy was cute. It was interesting how they chose not to have snowy 'thinking aloud' as in the comics, with his usual wish that it all just be over so they can go home.

Funny how Snowy's personality was changed from a cranky "when-will-all-this-nonsense-be-over" Threepio to a quirky, "no-shit-taken", day-saving adventurous Artoo

[Melange 446]

Yeah I suppose. Leaning more towards scrappy doo, but cute at the same time.

[Josh500 1,615]

There is also a nice little scene between Snowy and a dromedary at the beginning of the military fort sequence, in the foreground for a change...

Oh yeah!

I found all the scenes involving Snowy just hilarious!

Btw, do you guys remember the funny scene at the beginning of "Clash of the Cranes" where

Snowy fights some of the bad guys, and then looks and grins (almost) directly into the camera, while JW's music is going "Ta-daaaa!" (you can hear that at 0:53)?

[eitam 364]

Yes, I think I know what you’re talking about (although I don’t remember precisely the music)… indeed that scene was hilarious, and a nice counterpoint to the massive crane fight.

While we are on the Snowy-is-hilarious topic, I cannot not mention the scene where he is about to

work his way into the hold where Tintin is locked…

or the nice little touch of him leaning the chair in the library… or him

drinking Haddock’s whisky…

God there’re so many!

Overall I think they did a great job in making him the mischievous, intrepid, faithful and adorable dog he is in the books. And as someone completely ignorant of what a dog is supposed to look like, I have absolutely no issue of (un)realism with the animation…

[Josh500 1,615]

Wait a sec. We don't need to use spoiler tags here, do we?

Anyway, you guys remember the very first BIG scene with Snowy? Where he chases the cat all over the room and the mast of the ship gets broken?

THAT cue is not on the OS, is it? I mean, it's basically just Snowy's theme, but it's not the second track, is it?

[Jay 37,359]

That's in track 3 The Secret of the Scrolls from 1:34-2:16

[Josh500 1,615]

That's in track 3 The Secret of the Scrolls from 1:34-2:16

Oh!!!

Indeed it is! Somehow I didn't connect that with that scene...

But that cue in Tintin's room, at which point does it start in the 3rd track?