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The Adventures of Tintin Movie Review

The Adventures of Tintin is a 2011 animated action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. This was a hugely disappointing movie for me.

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“What is this peculiar beverage?

It had no bouquet, it’s completely transparent.

It’s water“

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Intrepid reporter Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock’s ancestor. First off, let’s just say that I grew up reading Tintin comics. I adored them as a kid. In fact, with my limited comics reading experience, Tintin was by far my favorite one as the series had so much European charm, adventure and joy.

So, when Spielberg decided to adapt it, it could have been a slam dunk had he focused on those feelings, but unfortunately most of that was not present in the end product, which feels overly Americanized. Gone is the adventure and gone is the charm here.

The biggest mistake was the action-heavy filmmaking approach that Spielberg ended up employing here, thus evoking the sense of the most annoying Indiana Jones movie, which is probably the first one for me as that one was all action and almost no adventure. This Tintin does have amazing locations and some sense of adventure, but not enough as whenever we arrive at the new beautiful locale, we are instantly introduced to an overly frenetic action sequence that goes on and on until it bored me endlessly.

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Let’s talk about the characters. At least Spielberg got them right. Tintin is endearing in his intrepid spirit and his design is faithful to the source material’s design. Daniel Craig was very good in the main antagonist role. Ivan is dangerous and truly menacing at times, and he served as a great foil for our protagonists. The bumbling detectives played by Nick Frost and Simon Pegg were also terrific, and these two were perfect casting choices for this comic relief duo.

The heart and soul of the picture, however, has to be Captain Archibald Haddock. Superbly played by the great Andy Serkis, this guy is sweet, endearing and so much fun. He also has a strong backstory and his drunkenness made him very entertaining. The major highlight of the movie is the relationship between Haddock and Tintin, which is so charming and wonderful. I wish that the rest of the movie was so enjoyable as that dynamic clearly was.

The Adventures of Tintin has CGI, but done in motion capture. I honestly wasn’t that big of a fan of that animation style as realized in this particular movie. I do respect its realism and modernity as it truly looks incredibly real and advanced, unlike many other previous motion capture animations from the last decade. However, by focusing so heavily on realism, the movie lost that sense of charm and comic-book sensibilities, and I was quite disappointed with that choice that went totally against the feel of the comics. I wished for a hand-drawn look. The score is great and the action is very well executed, but again overwhelming and the pacing is too frenetic.

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I loved reading Tintin comics as a kid, so that is why Spielberg’s take on this IP was immensely disappointing to me. Some elements he did incredibly well. The highlight is the characterization, which is excellent. The dynamic between Captain Haddock and Tintin himself is the heart and soul of the picture. The animation is also polished and very advanced in its realism. However, I wished for a more traditional, more charming animation and a lot more adventure. The action is overwhelming, harkening back to the chaotic first Indiana Jones movie. The movie is thus an Americanized mixed bag, but a slower pace and less action would have done wonders to make it more enjoyable.

My Rating – 3.5