Les Aventures de Tintin : Le Secret de la Licorne

Before his passing in 1983, Hergé said that if any filmmaker was to adapt his collection of timeless tales following the adventures of a Belgian reporter to the big screen, Steven Spielberg was the only man for the job, and after two decades of trial and error, the cinematic version of Tintin has finally reached our screens with the desired director at its helm. Alongside Spielberg sits Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) maestro Peter Jackson as producer and three of Britain's brightest writers (Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish) who have that almost impossible task of translating the stories from comic strips to 35mm. This 3D motion-capture and CGI extravaganza combines three of Tintin's most beloved outings (The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure) and hits UK multiplexes just before the school half-term.

After discovering an elegant model of the ship the 'Unicorn' at a market, Tintin (voiced by Jamie Bell) and his loyal dog Snowy are intrigued as to why so many desire it, and comment on the secrets it holds. When the model is stolen, more information surfaces and the pair set out to discover the truth, teaming up, after a surprise meeting, with the boisterous drunkard Captain Haddock (voiced by Andy Serkis). The group's adventure spans the globe, with each destination bringing more danger and that crucial step closer towards unravelling the mystery.

From the moment the picture opens, the film's tone and mood is set: mystery and adventure merged with fun and frolics. The classy, hand-drawn, animated titles use the signature silhouette imagery with style and sophistication, making the wit and wonder evident even before audiences have graced their eyes on the monumental motion capture work.

In a rather lacklustre year for animation, with the only true blossom of beauty being Studio Ghibli's impeccable 'Arrietty', Spielberg's latest thankfully ends this dry-run with a picture that explodes with vibrancy, craftsmanship and realism. Unlike Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture entries (The Polar Express [2004] and A Christmas Carol [2009]); The Adventures of Tintin is an entirely different bunch of blistering blue barnacles – every frame enforces impeccable detail and naturalism, and like the best animated pictures, viewers will forget they are watching digitalised representations in no time. Whether the visuals are mind-blowing as in the all-important action sequences – or brilliantly subtle – like the red, sweat-streaked cheeks and brows of Tintin and Haddock as they trek through a desert – this film is a clear example of just how magnificent technology is in this day and age.

Without a shadow of a doubt this is the year's finest animated entry – expect an Oscar nomination and a deserved win. As well as its tremendous visual flair, the feature's script is a revelation: beautifully written and whimsical dialogue that is frequently hilarious and manages to merge the three classic tales so seamlessly. Considering Hergé's stories are separate volumes, the typing trio behind this movie are able to make a sensible structure with the texts, making the film flow as gracefully as its perfect imagery. As well as the laughs, the script provides great character development for those new to the world of Tintin without insulting audiences with an hour's lesson. Young children will have no trouble picking up who's who in the early stages, before settling back for the incredible roller coaster ride of the second and climatic act.

Action fans will gain greatness from this movie too. Expect high octane chases, pirate swordplay and more bullets than a Sylvester Stallone entry – just a lot less gore and swearing. In fact, although The Adventures of Tintin is action-packed, its PG certificate is justified; I cannot recall anything remotely damaging or frightening for young eyes, so parents have nothing to fear with this one when deciding on their half-term picture.

The film also sees the much needed return of composer John Williams who provides yet another dazzling and effective score. The music captures the essence of the film in an instant and compliments it throughout.

The voice casting is collectively brilliant with Bell and Serkis being the obvious standouts. Bell's inquisitive tone and frequent high-pitched bursts mirror the speech bubbles Tintin utters in the comic panels. When reading a Hergé story, this is exactly how the character sounds in your head. Serkis steals the show as Captain Haddock and is given splendid dialogue to growl through bitter Scottish chords. Haddock's often stupid remarks and forgetfulness is beautifully represented through the animated character. Daniel Craig is also fantastic as the less-than-trustworthy Ivanovich Sakharine while Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are side-splitting as the lovable policing dunces Thomson and Thompson. Plus Snowy is absolutely wonderful.

There is no doubt that Spielberg's adaptation will be top of the box office upon release and hopefully those new to Tintin will be influenced to re-visit the books and television shows of yesteryear and become more involved with one of the century's most beloved and important literary creations.

Verdict: ••••• 'The Adventures of Tintin' is quintessentially the perfect family film and has plenty to offer audiences of all ages. This is an incredibly joyous, thrilling and comically genius adventure. Hergé was onto a winner with his thoughts towards Spielberg and he can rest easy now knowing his tales have been faithfully and beautifully translated into a cinematic masterwork. Great Snakes, it's good.

Somany great things have been written down for this Movie, that are only few left for me. It is adventures, it is funny and a great journey with Tin Tin and his clever dog Struppi! ....and the captain with his rum. It was just somuch FUN to watch this Movie.

I went to see this film in a free screening and took my nephew and niece with me, seeing as it was a family film to try and get different reactions to the film.

Let me start off with my view of the film, I've been a fan of Tintin since I first saw the cartoon back in the early 90's, though never read the comics. When I saw the credits of who wrote, produced and directed the film, you think to yourself this film is going to be awesome, there is no way with all that talent they can't possible f**k this up (and they didn't). You have Spielberg directing, Peter Jackson as a producer. Also the writing team great with Steven Moffat, known for Sherlock, Dr who, Coupling and another of my child hood favs, Press Gang. Finally you have Edgar Wright, who wrote and directed Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

The version of the film i saw was 3d, as it was a preview and i didn't have a choice. Normally i watch all my showing in 2d as i think its personally a fad and a rip off and the films i have seen excluding Avatar, i didn't think the 3d aspect improved the film going enjoyment one bit. This again is my option while the 3d is nice, and the shots going through glass and water was really good, there was nothing else that would have me pulling out another £2 a ticket. I would have been happy with a basic 2d version.

On to the film story, TinTin (voice by Billy Elliott's Jamie Bell) buys a handmade ship in market. As soon as he buys it he gets a number of offers of people willing to buy it from him, which TinTtn rejects. When he gets home Snowy, Tintin dog, breaks the ship and a hidden clue rolls out, which begins Tintin trying to work out what it means. Tintin then gets kidnapped by the evil Ivanovich Sakharine (Daniel Craig), who is after the clue. This where Tintin mets up with Captain Haddock as they set of trying to work out the meaning of Tintin clue.

The film is a really mixture of action and adventure. We see the heroes on board ships, rowing boats, fly airplanes, riding camels, having car\bike chases and crane fights. The time flew past for me and not once did i feel bored, this was probably down to the amount going with the film, the quick pace of the action and the different locations of the characters were always in. It reminded me of the Indiana Jones films a lot, where he is on the hunt for treasure, and he only has half of the clues, and the bad guys have the others half and both sides are trying to get the other half for the themselves. He then needs to go around the globe via different transportation to get the info he needs to find the treasure.

There is also a large amount of humour in the film, seeing as Moffat, who wrote coupling helped write it, this is no big surprise. While i got the jokes neither my nephew (3) nor niece (8) did. So I am assuming that these were aim at the adults watching.

The characters the film makers can't chance much from the original Hergé comics, but Tintin I did find too goody goody, the captain is great character, who is drunk loser, but has a kind heart and wants to do the right thing. The bad guy, Sakharine, is perfect, scary enough to make you believe that he is ruthless killer who is a greedy and after revenge, but on the other had not going over board to make the kids feel scared or afraid of him when he was on screen. There is also the two comic relief characters of inspector Thomson, who are on screen just enough to make you smile at the pratfalls and their stupidness, but not too long for the jokes to wear thin so you're sick of seeing them.

My rating of the film would be 4 out of 5.

On to the kids view of the film. 1st my nephew who is 3 years old (4 in November). He told me he liked the film a lot especially the pirate bits, but he didn't understand why the pirates were bad. He also said he liked the motorcycle chase because the bikes were cool. As i was sitting next to him i could tell the film was slightly too long for him as he started to fidgit a bit in the last 15 mins.

My niece who is 8 (9 in December), i didn't get a lot of information from her, when i asked if she liked all her answer was yes it was good, and when i asked what her favourite bit was, she told me all of it.

As a reference for taking children during the half term break, i would say 4 and under while enjoy the film like my nephew did, but they won't fully understand the plot of the film or why certain things are happening, but for 5 years old and up this film and adults included this is a must see.

Billions of blue blistering barnacles, Ten thousand thundering typhoons – for a whole generation these were the epitome of cuss words thanks to Captain Haddock. I am one of those in late 20s who grew up reading ( mugging to be precise as Thomson & Thompson would have said) Tintin and almost worship Herge for the genius intelligent stories created in the black and white times of our grandpas. Being an hardcore Tintin loyalist the excitement to see the boy sleuth of screen was certainly brewing high. But the movie left me wanting more. It left a mixed reaction in me and here I come one by one at different levels.

Story Level – Hollywood have adapted many novels for big screen and most of the times it has failed to recreate the finesse of the original work. Spielberg's rendition of Tintin somehow managed a mixed reaction in terms of story. Firstly selecting "The Crab with the Golden Claws" make sense as that shows the boy sleuth meeting the gold hearted Captain Haddock for the first time and in the first encounter Tintin comes face to face with the perennial drinking habit of Captain. "The crab with the golden claws" had enough spice for a full fledged film but may be Spielberg wanted some adventure which prompted him to juggle with "The secret of the unicorn" and "the crab with the golden claws" thus making a concatenation of two stories. Personally I felt that the two stories have been woven wisely with liberty taken in creating an ancestral fight between Captain Francis Haddock and Pirate Red Rackham. Somehow the cocktail was well crafted with the story oscillating between two original books. But the second half was outright outlandish as Spielberg merges his own imagination in creating a full fledged action film which took away the essence of Tintin. The subtlety, intelligence were missing as the director chose to make a 80s Bollywoodish action climax which had no connection to the original one. Moreover the movie ended in the way the comic book "Red Rackham's Treasure" ends yet Spielberg hinted a sequel which is related to Red Rackham's treasure. That shows the sequel will be a total new story by Spielberg (or Peter Jackson) with touches of original. It will be strictly for those who have no idea of what actual Tintin is all about. I mean Spilberg could have named it anything Tom Dick and Harry if not Tintin specially for the second half.

Character Level – Spielberg is almost perfect in designing the characters. The look and the way the screen Tintin reacts brings in nostalgia of childhood days when we imagined (and discussed amongst friends) how Tintin would have behaved if made on screen. The attire to expression was all nicely done. Same goes for Snowy, the cute loyal dog of Tintin who can fight with the goons to save his beloved master. In fact children will fall in love with Snowy after watching this film. In one of the scene when Tintin gets kidnapped Snowy follows the car of the goons to the ship were Tintin was deported. The scene indeed brings out the pathos and concern inside Snowy for his master. Coming to Captain Haddock the characterization isn't as perfect as the comic book. The laziness and craziness in the first half were apt but then Captain fighting in the second half is too hard to digest. The detective duo Thompson and Thomson is appropriate and so is famous nightingale singer Bianca Castaphiore. But Spielberg should have included the verbal fights between Castaphiore and Haddock though he hinted Haddock and Snowy's disgust for Castaphiore's opera. Coming to the villains I am not convinced of Sachcharin as the main villain. The original had Bird Brothers as the villain duo which was more convincing than the screen one. In fact if they wanted to include a dreaded notorious villain then Rastapopulous (the evergreen big nosed enemy of Tintin) would have been the right choice. Even malicious Captain Allan has been relegated to side kick of Sachcharin. Captain Francis Haddock and Red Rackham's characters were true to the original book and it worked well.

Technical Level :- Frankly speaking the 3D effects were disappointing though the animation was top notch. The shadows and the structures created the by gone era with utmost precision. The fight sequence between Captain Francis Haddock and Red Rackham was one of the best sequences in the film. With brilliant camera-work and fine editing the scenes looked captivating on screen. Thought the fight sequences in the climax were loud for Tintin purist but at technical level those are a treat to watch and would be lapped by those who don't have a clue of "actual" Tintin. Dialogues were plain pedestrian and thanks to morality lectures by Captain it becomes ridiculous as a Tintin loyalist to sit through in the second half. As a director Spielberg has lost his midas touch long back which is echoed by this film again.

As a whole Adventure of Tintin started of brilliantly but lost its true sense with faulty narrative towards later half. Tintin loyalists would feel cheated but then they would still watch it for Nostalgia. Non-Tintin fans would lap it for the action. But believe me the Belgian reporter who resides in the heart of millions deserve a better on-screen representation thus doing justice to original masterpiece created by genius Herge. Whatever may be the fate of Spielberg's Tintin please go and read the original comic series. Each is brilliant in it's own way..On-screen or off-screen Tintin and Snowy rocks!! Tintin the film 6/10..Tintin the comic book 11/10

Since 1981, Spielberg has become an avid fan of this gorgeous "Tintin" comics and has been longing to create a film about it. Before he and "Tintin's" master, Herge could meet, Herge passed away. However, Herge's widow decided to give them the rights and began the adventure to re-create this marvelous wonder of art.

Adapted from three of the comics, Spielberg's re-creation of the comics introduces us to Tintin (Jamie Bell), a Belgian reporter who gets caught up in all sorts of adventures. One day, he found a model of a ship, the Unicorn and bought it and brought it home. However, when Tintin was buying the ship, two men came to try to buy the model, Sakharine (Daniel Craig) and Barnaby. Later, Tintin discovers that the model holds an important secret and somehow, the secret is linked to the real ship itself. On the way for answers, he meets the grumpy Haddock and head off to an adventure spanning around the globe with his white fluffy dog Snowy.

The animation is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. It's not right to call it a CGI film as the motion of the characters are much smoother than that of CGI films. Tintin's animated self looks stunning (even though he looks kind of different from his comic-self) in his blue long sleeves. Snowy is fluffier than ever. Captain Haddock is grumpier than ever. All of the animation is simply breathtaking and the best I've ever seen.

I like how they change scenes. While most other movies just shift scenes normally, this film uses a little imagination and is ingenious in shifting scenes. They can change from a scene of shaking hands to a desert scene by using the outline of the two hands into the surface of the desert. This thing is just entertaining and great in its own right and deserves some reward.

The movie itself is fun to watch. The story is compelling, the lines are natural-sounding, and the action is plenty of fun to watch. It is great excitement to watch and I was hooked from beginning to end. Great plot + awesome action + breathtaking animation equals up to amazing movie.

The 3D is perfectly fine. The depth is seen and the 3D just makes the movie even more fun to watch.

I definitely recommend you to watch this film. "Tintin" fan or no, this is sheer fun to watch. If this movie is out in your country, watch it immediately. For U.S. citizens, I'm sorry if you still have to wait for a while but I promise you, this is like no other movie. This movie is over the top and is plenty of fun to watch. A full 10 out of 10! Thanks for reading my review on "The Adventures of Tintin". I do hope this review is of good use to you.