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Blu-ray Review: ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ Looks Great, Feels Hollow



CHICAGO – Being a Steven Spielberg super-fan, I looked forward to being able to re-appreciate “The Adventures of Tintin” with a beautiful HD picture and, I hoped, some special features to enhance my opinion of a film that I found pretty seriously flawed in theaters. Well, the HD transfer is a beauty — the film looks just as good as its 3D theatrical presentation — but the film is still flawed and the special features are lackluster. In theaters, it was a near-miss and my opinion has not changed on Blu-ray.
![]() Blu-ray Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
Excepting for a few stand-out action scenes that, admittedly, look fantastic in HD, I still find “Tintin” dull. It’s boring. I know that’s a very American opinion (the film has been a juggernaut internationally, where Herge’s comic is much more popular) but I guess this is just the soccer of cartoons — bigger overseas.
After a jazzy, fun opening credits sequence scored to another Oscar-nominated John Williams score, the action of the piece kicks in as we meet the intrepid title character (voiced and mo-capped by Jamie Bell) and his loyal canine companion. Tintin seems like an engaging chap, the kind of wide-eyed protagonist to follow on a globe-trotting adventure. Sadly, he takes a back seat almost immediately to what is basically a non-stop action kid’s movie that becomes monotonous in its breakneck rhythm. Character, humor, whimsy, invention – there’s no time when Spielberg, Jackson and his team are busy crafting the next set piece.

The Adventures of Tintin
Photo credit: Paramount
Tintin buys a model of an old ship at a flea market. Before he can even finish looking at it, people are trying to take it from him, including an American (Joe Starr) who warns him of danger and a ne’er-do-well named Sakharine (Daniel Craig). The model ship hides a clue to not only the secret history of the seafaring vessel on which it was based but the path to a hidden fortune. To find that fortune, Tintin will need the help of a drunken ship captain named Archibald Haddock (Andy Serkis, in another inspired bit of motion capture performance), the last living relative of the former Captain of the Unicorn, Sir Francis Haddock.
![]() The Adventures of Tintin was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 13th, 2012 Photo credit: Paramount |
It’s clear why Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson chose to shoot “Tintin” with mo-cap animation. There are sequences in this movie that simply couldn’t be pulled off in live-action. While I love watching a filmmaker experiment with new ways to express himself, the problem is that the film ends up being more style than substance. It’s a film that’s missing that “whoa factor,” the awe that so many of his other works (and J.J. Abrams’ ode to the master, “Super 8”) have provided. It’s like a video game cut scene — it might look good, but it doesn’t inspire you to play in its world. Just sit back and watch. And try not to fall asleep.
As for the Blu-ray, the HD video and audio are stellar but the special features are kind of a snooze. How does a movie this technically strong not have a picture-in-picture function or a commentary? Maybe after they make the inevitable sequel.
Synopsis:
From Academy Award® winning filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson comes the epic adventures of Tintin. 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 that critics are calling “fun for the whole family.” ABC-TV (Chicago)
Special Features:
o Journey Inside the World of Tintin
o Snowy: The Full Tail
o Go Behind the Scenes of Tintin
![]() | By BRIAN TALLERICO |
You must not have any soul
You must not have any soul to find this, greatest of all comic book adaptations, and a funny, kietic, involving and, above all joyous film anything less than joy.
It made this viewer feel completely transported.