Matt Adcock’s film review: The Adventures of Tintin – Secret Of The Unicorn (31.10.11)

Hold on to your hats, here’s the big CGI visual ‘leap’ which brings some seriously awesome graphics to the big screen and the result is absolutely jaw-dropping.

In the capable hands of Steven Spielberg – his follow up to Indiana Jones 4 – high adventure is presented in amazing animated style. The Adventures of Tintin literally jumps from the pages of Hergé’s comic book series.

The Secret of the Unicorn is a fun- packed, family-friendly romp which has taken a long time to be realised in the manner that only the latest computer power can bring about.

It is a loving homage that I’m sure the original Belgian cartoonist, alas no longer with us, would have been pleased with.

Spielberg’s Tin Tin project benefits from having a cracking team of writers that include Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish.

Tin Tin fans who have read The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham’s Treasure will recognise the packed plot.

The mixture of old school adventure and cutting edge visuals makes for a very enjoyable film – it even managed to amuse my teenage son, which isn’t easy for anything other than Youtube or Facebook these days.

So young Tin Tin stumbles on to a secret which could lead to a lost treasure – but there are nefarious forces also after the riches, so danger and death defying derring-do are the order of the day.

Along for the ride is Tin Tin’s sidekick dog Snowy, who has a handy knack of saving the day, plus whiskey- loving Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) and the twin Interpol agents Thomson and Thompson (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost).

The bad guy of the piece is the Ivanovich Sakharine (Daniel Craig) who brings good dastardly counterbalance to the innocent faced Tin Tin and friends.

The action cracks along at a good pace and there are some lovely references to the original comics.

So there really isn’t any good reason not to go and enjoy this rip-roaring adventure – even if it probably won’t be remembered as the classic that the makers were hoping it would be.

It does look like Tin Tin will be back soon, though, with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, who handled the production duties on this film, already slated to tackle directing duties for the sequel.

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