Making a film version of The Adventures of Tintin was a bit of risky move for Steven Spielberg, since the popular Belgian comics are next to unknown in the United States. The opposite can be said here in Canada, where there was a popular animated series based on the books that aired in the 1990s. I have fond memories of that series and was definitely looking forward to the movie.
For the movie, Spielberg opted to use motion capture CGI. As such, while the film retains the basic look of the comics (including Tintin's pointed haircut), there is a touch of photorealism in the characters. It also allows for things that could never be accomplished in live action, such as the human-like behaviours of Tintin's trusty dog Snowy, as well as many physics-defying action scenes (including a completely unbelievable car chase).
The film features a quite impressive cast including Jamie Bell as Tintin, Andy Serkis as Captian Haddock, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as the bumbling detectives Thompson and Thomson, and Daniel Craig as the villainous Sakharine. The story is an adaption of the Tintin book The Secret of the Unicorn is meant as the first film in a series of Tintin films with producer Peter Jackson except to helm the possible sequel.
Overall, I thought that The Adventures of Tintin was a funny and exciting adventure film and I would definitely look forward to seeing more adventures on the big screen.
8/10
