Movie Review: "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn"

The Adventures of Tintin:
The Secret of the Unicorn
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost
Rated: PG for adventure action violence, some drunkenness and brief smoking

As a disclaimer, I am a huge Tintin fan; as a kid, I both read Herge's terrific comic book adventures (which were written from the 1930s through the 1970s) and watched the Nickelodeon adaptations, chronicling the adventures of the boy reporter, who is almost a kids' version of Indiana Jones. Because of this, I've been eagerly following this film since they announced that Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg were directing some Tintin adaptations back in 2007. And the first film, The Secret of the Unicorn, has easily lived up to it's hype. While one should expect Spielberg to deliver the best blockbusters one can watch, you can almost sense that, in Tintin, the legendary director is at the height of his powers; with an animated film, his vision is now completely unrestrained and his action is completely untamed. Because of it, the film is incredibly exciting, especially a terrific one-shot motorcycle chase that is as crazy and ridiculous as the filmmaker's imagination. Despite the scale of the film, Spielberg and Jackson (as well as writer Edgar Wright) nail the characters of the film, making sure everything reflects Herge's books: the casting, from Jamie Bell as Tintin to Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as Thomson and Thompson, is spot-on and the motion capture quality is marvelous, yet it stays true to Herge's characterizations. Overall, it's a near flawless Tintin adventure (despite not following the book very closely); avid fans (like myself) will be mesmerized by it, but really any kid or kid-at-heart will likewise be completely captured by The Adventures of Tintin. Thanks to Herge and Spielberg, we are reminded of the adventure and excitement of the world, which is waiting around every corner.