The Adventures of Tin Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011)
Certified: U
Duration: 107 minutes
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Daniel Craig, Toby Jones, Tony Curran, Gad Elmaleh, Cary Elwes
KRS release
The seminal comic strip by Hergé that kicked life off in 1929, selling over 350 million copies and which has been translated into 80 languages, finally makes its Hollywood film debut.
Director Steven Spielberg seems to have been injected with a dose of energy by Peter Jackson’s production; this film, in fact, reminded me of the time when he was still directing Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
The Adventures of Tin Tin uses all the latest motion capture technology and puts an end to the watery/dead eyes-look that Robert Zemeckis’s foray into the genre (Monster House, The Polar Express and Beowulf) has been tagged with. The greatest success is, however, the feeling that the film has lost none of the spirit of Hergé’s creation.
The Secret of The Unicorn brings together three stories from Hergé’s oeuvre: The Crab With The Golden Claws, The Secret Of The Unicorn and Red Rackham’s Treasure and craftily melds them into one tale. Every character is given his own space with Snowy, Tintin’s dog, performing incredible and cool moves. It’s amazing how this old comic strip can still wow a modern audience; that’s mainly thanks to the well-honed script.
Jamie Bell provides the movements to Tin Tin, the cub reporter who buys a model of an old ship called The Unicorn which holds a secret. Soon he is harassed by other men who want him to sell them the model. Barnaby (Joe Starr) comes along first, followed by the mysterious Sakharine (Daniel Craig).
Tin Tin soon discovers a clue in the ship that could lead him to finding a long lost treasure. But he is kidnapped and taken on board a steamer where he meets Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis). Haddock’s connection with The Unicorn lies in him being a descendant of Sir Francis Haddock – the ship’s owner back in the 17th century. Haddock had lost his ship in a fight with Red Rackham (Daniel Craig). The adventure ends up in the Sahara, in Morocco and more. With thrills aplenty, comic touches are provided by the bumbling detectives Thompson and Thompson (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost).
One of the greatest question marks has always been how Tin Tin’s protruding quiff of hair would look on film. Well, not to worry. Mr Spielberg not only depicts this faithfully, but uses the hairstyle to pay homage to his own movies.
The film is made up of a variety of set pieces – all thrilling in their own right – yet at the same time, having a throwback feel reminiscent of a different time. This gives the film and its characters an endearing look. The film’s success lies in managing to avoid appealing only to the comic book fans and presents a film that will entertain the socks off the whole family.
The motion capture technology has come a long way. I simply cannot fathom why the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences can keep holding out that the actors who provide performances in this manner cannot be given Oscar nominations. The recent The Rise of the Planet of the Apes had shown Andy Serkis in super fine mode and here he once again delivers a worthy performance as Captain Haddock. His character is a real handful, sober or not! The technology may provide the sheen but it is obvious that it is the human element provided by the actors that give the film that extra touch.
The film has an overall aura of innocence and wishful reminiscence for a different way of film-making. It was a time when making a picture was actually breaking new ground and one could be original. In fact, this film in its retro tone, incredible technology, great characters and fun thrills seems to be breaking new ground.
Irrespective of how this film fares at the box office, it has already been decided that a sequel would be directed by Peter Jackson while a third would be a co-direction between Mr Spielberg and Mr Jackson. Now does that whet your appetite or what?