11 November 2011

The Adventures of Tintin [IMAX 3D]

[Disclaimer: I am a Tintin fan! Tintin was the first comic book I read and I have got all them!]

Blistering blue barnacles!! This is a must-watch for true blue Tintin fans! A non-stop, rollicking treasure-mystery adventure with Spielberg back to his early Indiana Jones brilliance. A new franchise is potentially born. The slightly British-leaning plot (written in part by Steven Moffat - Dr Who! Coupling!, Edgar Wright - Shaun of the Dead! Hot Fuzz!, and Joe Cornish - the recent Attack the Block!) is a portmanteau of "The Crab with the Golden Claws", "The Secret of The Unicorn" and "Red Rackham's Treasure" interspersed with amazing, immersive 3D action sequences, classic Tintin-isms and comic relief from Haddock and the pitch-perfect Thompson & Thomson (Simon Pegg! Nick Frost!). Now, only if they found a way to include Snowy's speech bubbles...heh! The gorgeous opening credits, a la "Catch Me If You Can", was accompanied with a score by John Williams, and aims to help any naive audience settle into the role/identity of the iconic Tintin. The movie may start off a bit slow getting into the crux of the mystery, but once the action starts, Spielberg and Jackson just keeps piling it on. One fantastical action sequence after another. Unfortunately, the animation itself was a double-edged sword for this show; flawless and amazing animation/action sequences are burdened by an emotional detachment from the soulless eyes of the motion-capture characters. How do you care for an "actor" that "can't die"? Nonetheless, one cannot help cheering on the intrepid boy-reporter throughout the show, hope for the redemption of Captain Haddock, and applaud the ingenuity and brilliance of Snowy! All of it was strung along with a fitting/swelling score by Williams; lots of violins and very high adventure sounding (again, similar to the great old Indiana Jones soundtrack). Definitely should be watched in 3D and added bonus in IMAX!

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