The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (Steven Spielberg, 2011) Review

Am I the only who was bugged by the opening. It was missing something...something big. The Tintin theme. The one from all the TV shows before this film. So as you may have guessed, it's based on three of the Tintin books...more or less. Now I for one love the Tintin series and was very excited for this film (the projector broke so I had to wait for the DVD) but did it hold up to the hype I created (although no else seemed to care)? Let's find out.

After purchasing a rare model ship, Tintin (Jaime Bell) learns that it's more trouble than it's worth after an American informat is killed on his doorstep after warning Tintin about the ship. He is kidnapped by a man named Sakharine (Daniel Craig) who has an identical model ship and is after a scroll hidden in Tintin's ship. While escaping Sakharine's clutches, Tintin runs into the captain of Sakharine's ship (which is not a model), Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis). The two escape from Sakharine and must now track down Sakharine and stop him from getting the scrolls which lead to Red Rackham's secret treasure.

I was blown away at how amazing this film looks. Okay, it's cheating since it's motion capture but that can't stop it from looking incredible. The characters are an excellent recreation of their classic comic styles and their voices just help amplify how great the characters are. Jaime Bell is perfect as Tintin and, while I was sceptical at first, Andy Serkis is surprisingly good as Haddock. Daniel Craig surprised me as the villain, Sakharine, just because I've never seen him do a villainous role before. Thompson and Thomson (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) surprised me because I just thought they were signed up for the star appeal but they actually perform the role well and I wish there was more of them.

Was I the only one that was shocked that this was marketed as a kids film? People die, blood is seen, Tintin is seen holding a gun and there is lots of life-threatening peril. I think it's more for fans of the original Tintin stories than for kids. It does throw a few twists in there like how Sherlock puts twists on classic Sherlock Holmes. Also, I was disappointed with John William's score for this film. It was very forgettable and was just crying out for the original Tintin theme.

All in all, The Adventures of Tintin is a great adaptation of the classic stories. If you love the world of Tintin, you will love this film. Sure, there are some moments that I thought were just plain stupid but they're easy to forgive and it comes together as a great adventure. A must see for Tintin fans but it is by no means a kids film. DON'T MAKE THAT MISTAKE. You can enjoy this at any age.

Verdict:
8.5/10
A great adventure film that is a must see for Tintin fans. The acting is good and looks incredible.