THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (Steven Spielberg, 2011)

It is not often you will see me write the following words but one of my most anticipated films for 2011 was the 3D motion capture adaptation of THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (Steven Spielberg, 2011). As a child I was a huge fan of this series of comic books and when I saw the trailer for the film knowing Spielberg and Peter Jackson were attached actually had me remembering how I used to get excited for films. I came away from the viewing experience visually stimulated and extremely pleased with the finished product given us by the two masters.

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN is a great juxtaposition of several of the Herge comic books. The narrative is fun, adventurous and keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire ride. There are times of predictability and childlike simplicity, but allowing for this entitles the viewer to more enjoyment from the film. The narrative skillfully introduces all the main characters from the series. It is not overly long and not burdened with self importance.

My main fear heading into the film was the use of technology in making the film. I am not a fan of motion capture and I won't even mention my disdain for 3D. But both were accomplished artfully and with the bonus of serving to compliment the film rather than detract from its merit. For the motion capture, to me, it is the ultimate compliment if I have no idea who the actor is performing the MC. That was Daniel Craig as Red Rackham? I had no idea until I watched the credits. Job well done sir. And my biggest knock against 3D is it is often used to mask definitive lack of narrative quality. Not so with this film as the 3D was placed subtly and with great effect, not blatantly screaming at the viewer to watch the technology.

The ultimate compliment I can give this film is that when I was watching there were times when I was reminded of watching another Spielberg classic, THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. To me the TinTin character was the young Indiana Jones and I almost forgot they came out with a fourth Indy film. Almost. And then when I read later that Spielberg originally loved the idea of a TinTin film since the early 80's, I was happy as I realized I have something in common with the master. Great film, can't wait for the sequel to see what Peter Jackson does!