Review - The Adventures of Tintin 3D

Before he passed away, Hergé announced that there was only one person who could bring his famous character Tintin to the big screen and low and behold, after years of development finally Steven Spielberg grants the creator's wishes.

Pairing up with Peter Jackson, Spielberg brings to the screen Belgium's most loved reporter in what promises to be a rollercoaster ride. The Secret Of The Unicorn sees our reporting hero and his faithful sidekick dog Snowy enter a dangerous adventure involving secret scrolls hidden inside model ships that lead to a hidden treasure. In pursuit of clues and the treasure, Tintin (Jamie Bell) comes across Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), the last of the Haddocks left alive and it is his ancestor Sir Francis Haddoque who hid the treasure many years ago.


With the evil Red Rackham (Daniel Craig) and his henchmen in pursuit, we find ourselves racing across numerous beautiful locales collecting up clues as we progress, leading to a superb finale to satisfy all your viewing needs. 


In terms of presentation there is no doubt that Tintin is one of, if not the best looking motion capture films of recent time. With Peter Jackson's WETA Digital working on the project there is no doubt that visually Tintin is fantastic, with such precision on the look of the characters and the all round flow of movement on screen, luckily this is not hindered either by the 3D version (which can tend to make films look darker).


With regards to the film's content, Tintin achieves a status of a fun adventure film with plenty of action and mystery to satisfy the majority of film lovers. With its fast pacing and easy-to-follow plot it entertains at a lively pace and brings together some breathtaking set pieces along with beautifully shot action scenes. 


At times it must be said that the film begins to trip up on itself but these are helped along nicely with the ever-exceptional John Williams composing a truly remarkable soundtrack which would be an easy listen even without the film playing. 


In fairness Tintin was always set to impress with its sleek look and its already well known name in the world of books and cartoons, but take nothing away from Speilberg and Jackson, this was always a tough task to bring the Belgian to screen. Jamie Bell eases his way through and with a great Andy Serkis, combines for one of recent cinema's most loveable double acts (with Snowy in tow of course!). Equally as impressive are comedic duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as Thomson and Thompson, Interpol's finest, practically running the show in the few scenes they are included.


As a whole Tintin succeeds in being a thoroughly entertaining thrill ride with plenty of story to keep the older viewers content. With a sequel hinted at it is clear that Spielberg and Jackson are the right guys for this project and don't be surprised that a new franchise with the longevity factor has been born. A real treat. 


Film rating: 4 out of 5 F's