Monday 2 April 2012

ONE TO WATCH: THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (DVD)



“As a child, Tintin never interested me in the slightest. Even when I first heard that Academy Award-winning filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson were on board for this adaptation I was hardly filled with childlike excitement. Then I saw the trailer and realised there was a funny dog in it. Racing to uncover the secrets of a sunken ship that may hold a vast fortune - but also an ancient curse - Tintin and his loyal dog Snowy embark on an action-packed journey around the world.

It’s not that action packed. There’s a lengthy flashback sequence when Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) is haunted by a mirage in the desert which slows the slightly repetitive chase sequences, but Haddock and hound Snowy will please children and adults alike. In fact, Tintin is fairly redundant, relying on his little pooch to rescue him time and time again. Daniel Craig impresses as the villainous Sakharine but Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, playing Thomson and Thompson, are as hit and miss as their film credits when they rely on someone else to write the material.

Obviously, the whole spectacle looks amazing – so much so you could question why they didn’t just turn this into a live action extravaganza. But then it wouldn’t look like Tintin, and at the very least it proves that its creator, Belgian artist Herge, was right when he said only Spielberg was capable of bringing his creation to the big screen. In summary, an intriguing opening act is disrupted by a slightly disjointed midsection, and the finale, despite one brilliant pursuit, feels a little rushed, which is a pity seeing as the film is surprisingly short. It may not have interested me as a child, but it’s certainly whetting my appetite for a sequel.” DW


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