Today's Mini-Review: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, The

Rating: ****/*****, or 7/10

Steven Spielberg's first foray into the realm of motion capture, for which he used the classic comic adventures of Hergé's Tintin as the source material, combining elements from such beloved tales as The Crab with the Golden Claws, Red Rackham's Treasure and of course, The Secret of the Unicorn itself. Using real human performances from accomplished actors, the otherwise fully animated characters seem that much more convincing, making it a fine blend between animation and live-action, about as close to the original comics as an animated movie could hope to get. The young reporter Tintin (charming Jamie Bell) stumbles upon a model ship, the Unicorn, at a flea market, and soon gets caught up in a plot to find the location of the actual ship that sunk hundreds of years ago, loaded with treasure. The sinister Sakharine (Daniel Craig) is after his model and several others like it, to solve the puzzle of their predecessor's wherabouts on the bottom of the ocean. Tintin and his loyal dog Snowy team up with the ever drunk Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis, the undisputed king of mo-cap), a descendant of the Unicorn's commander, to keep Sakharine from achieving his goal and find the treasure first, for which they'll have to brave storms at sea, plain crashes, scorching desert crossings and the excessively high pitched voice of the Milanese Nightingale, Bianca Castafiore. Meanwhile, back at home, bumbling inspectors Thomson and Thompson (Nick Frost and Simon Pegg) – no relation! – are out to catch a shrewd pickpocket. Tintin may be the hero of the piece, but it's Haddock, Snowy and the two policemen who deliver the best lines, funniest gags and most memorable characters overall, just as in the comics: compared to them, Tintin himself remains fairly dull overall. Anyone who has ever seen an Indiana Jones movie and kept thinking of Tintin will be pleased to know Spielberg has perfectly carried over the tone of his Indy films to this first Adventure of Tintin, which is also quite suitable for a younger audience (and should adequately warn kids against the dangers of rampant alcohol consumption). Producer Peter Jackson is supposed to direct the next installment, but working on The Hobbit trilogy has thus far kept him from doing so. Hopefully he will pick it up soon, since it would be a darn shame if there ended up being just a single Adventure of Tintin.

Starring: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig

Directed by Steven Spielberg

USA/New Zealand: Colbumbia Pictures, 2011