The Adventures of Tintin: Blisterin’ cinematic joy!

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The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Directed by Steven Spielberg
Cast: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost

At times when nothing seems to be going right, there is nothing quite like getting back to the basics to regain your lost touch. The same seem to hold true for even ace director Steven Spielberg, who gets an opportunity to do just that by taking on a project like The Adventures of Tintin: the Secret of the Unicorn. Evidently, Spielberg seems to have grabbed it with both hands, because what you get onscreen is easily one of the better works from the director in recent years. Sure, it is draped in latest of film making techniques, but for the 65 year old maverick, this is certainly a nostalgic trip back to his early days of movie making.

On second thoughts, there could not have been a better project than Tintin to achieve this. Because, for millions across the globe, Tintin is a walk down memory lane and proves an excuse to evoke the childhood memories in many. Having been translated into over 80 languages, the Tintin comics were quite a phenomenon of the pre-Internet days and have a special place in the minds of many.

So apprehensiveness was certain when something so dear gets into the hands of Hollywood. Oft late, with the obvious dearth of original ideas, the big studios have no qualms in taking on popular comics of yesteryears and adapting them for the big screen. This cash minting exercise, on most occasions, starts off as a tribute work on paper, only to eventually end up as an embarrassment to both the creators and fans of the comic alike.

The case here is a little more complicated though. Spielberg landing up with Tintin was not a decision made across a studio meeting room. Instead, it was the Belgian artist Georges Remi (pen name, Herg?) who himself, before his demise in 1983, went onto state that Spielberg as a fitting candidate to take Tintin to the big screens. Spielberg had bought the rights back in the 80s but it wasn’t until 2005, that he seriously took up the idea of a live Tintin feature.

Thankfully, in the hands of visionary stalwarts, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, Tintin and Co., do make a successful leap onto the big screen, that too in ever glorious 3D. The writing team of Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) , Joe Cornish (Attack The Block) and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim) have come up with a compelling script that is bound to keep all ends happy. Though an amalgamation of namely three books – The Secret of the Unicorn, The Red Rackham’s Treasure and The Crab with the Golden Claws, the makers have ensured to retain the spirit and tone of the original and does not veer away from the source material for the sake of new age storytelling.

The world of reporter Tintin is set up admirably for the non-purists, from the word ‘go’ with the impressive title sequence. The narration then kicks off in a flea market, where we get the glimpse of the original Tintin image, in the form of a painting by a street artist (a Herg? cameo) before Spielberg displays us his CGI version of the reporter.

A miniature model of the famed Unicorn ship, purchased by Tintin (Jamie Bell) from a street vendor, begins to attract several potential buyers. His journalist instincts does not take time to kick in and make him realize that this ship model holds the key to a bigger truth, but little does he know that this search shall take him on an adventure across the high seas and beyond the vast deserts. Joining him in this globe trotting quest is the comic regulars, trustee terrier Snowy, Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), and the bumbling detectives, the Thompson Twins (Simon Pegg, Nick Frost).

The narration is pretty straight forward and as mentioned earlier, the writers do not try anything fancy. Neither do you see the emotional quotient of the Pixar writings, nor the tongue in cheek reference laden wit of the Dreamworks’ features. Though it works as a positive for the fanboys, it also might prove to be the flipside for the general audiences seeking more. This leaves Spielberg the onus of heightening the adventure with action set pieces and in most cases, he does not disappoint. The single-shot action sequence in the streets of Baghar is a technical delight and brilliantly executed. Equally impressive is the scene where Tintin tries to grab the keys from a room full of sleeping sailors. Spielberg even throws in a crackling showdown between Haddock and the villain of the piece, Shakarine ( a very un-Bond like Daniel Craig), but does go overboard with the crane-bashing sequences at the climax.

Though targeted at the younger audiences, Spielberg and his team, thankfully and respectfully, does not resort to dumbing down of the screenplay to make it more appealing to the younger tots. Humour flows in freely into the screenplay playing on Captain Haddock’s unquenchable thirst for alcohol, while none frets over spraying bullets all over to get the point across. You know this is not your Disney kiddie flick the minute a man is murdered on Tintin’s footsteps early into the film with the housekeeper going ‘Not again!’. What is done away totally though, are the racial undertones that did exist in the original. But all these comparisons may occur to the eyes of the older audiences, but every 12 year old boy out there would gulp up this roaring adventure instantly.

For patrons of the motion capture format, the film is a huge accomplishment that manifests the leaps and advancement that the technology has made since the Polar Express days. The motions and expressions are way more fluid that it ever was and the process enhances the story telling a great deal. Sure, the central character Tintin still has some of the uncanny valley dead gaze issues, but most of the other characters are spot on perfect. Haddock of course comes alive with Andy Serkis’ manic performance but then which of his characters doesn’t. Snowy, an almost show stealer here, is enough reason to highlight the fact that this would not have worked this well any other format. Knowing the awesome chemistry between Pegg and Frost, the Thompson twins still has a lot of untapped potential.

The 3D experience however was not all positive. Though in most counts, it works in favour of the visual shots, there were still instances where the 3D fails to gel with the quick movements of the camera.

Ultimately, the success of this adaptation lies in the fact that the film embodies the adventure spirit that was once relished in the original Indian Jones and Pirates of the Carribbean movies, prior to the studios ruining them for all. Fortunately these are still early days for Tintin, and a sequel should not pose to be a problem for Peter Jackson, now that the base characters have been set up. Going purely by the first installment, surely, an adventure beckons, and with more great characters like the Professor Calculus yet to come, it is bound to be worth ten thousand thunderin’ typhoons! Bring ‘em on!

Rating: 3.5 / 5

- Joxily John

Jox John

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