REVIEW: The Adventures of Tintin

[rj_anderson]

I was going to write a review of the movie I saw last night (in 3D, which was rather irritating as I had to fit the 3D glasses over my regular glasses and the distance between the lenses and my eyes was a bit too far, thus rendering me slightly seasick throughout) but then I found that teenybuffalo had already written a thoughtful and lovely review with which I entirely agree, and which you can find here.

teenybuffalo also makes some smart points about Tintin's character, which is really not the blank slate that some claim -- he's just unrelentingly heroic and unflaggingly loyal, which is frequently mistaken for lack of personality by those who prefer morally ambiguous and/or tortured characters. However, I happen to quite like characters who are doggedly committed to doing the right thing if it kills them, so it never occurred to me to see Tintin as bland. Especially since he is, at times, quite wickedly clever and flat-out hilarious. ("...since I've just been bitten by this mad dog!")

One thing I also want to mention since I haven't seen it in any other reviews: I did not at any time feel that these characters fell into the Uncanny Valley, which was a pleasant surprise after the trailer (which did give me such worries). I was particularly watching the characters' eyes to decide if they looked "dead" or not, and I was thoroughly impressed by the light and expression in everyone's eyes. Also, the level of detail is phenomenal. You can see the fine hairs on Tintin's forearms and the texture of Haddock's skin. And Sakharine's hair is fab. :)

Upshot: I want more movies, please.

Comments

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

I can understand why they did that with Red Rackham's, though, as the whole thing is a wild goose chase. A fun wild goose chase, but nevertheless, it involves a lot of sailing and exploring that ultimately leads nowhere and doesn't even turn out to be particularly necessary to the solution of the plot. (Though Haddock vs. the parrots will never stop being funny.)

And I would love if they did the moon books. I don't know that they will, as going to the moon is old hat these days and I imagine it'd be hard to recapture that initial excitement, but they're great books.

[davidbrider.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think on balance you're right about RRT. I think it may have been the first Tintin book I read, after seeing the animated version (this was back in 1975 or so, so not sure *which* animated version), so I have a bias in its favour!

I keep hearing rumours that the next film(s) may involve either Seven Crystal Balls/Prisoners of the Sun and/or The Calculus Affair. Neither of which I would object to. But like Red Rackham's Treasure, the Moon ones have a special place in my heart. :-)

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

I love SEVEN CRYSTAL / PRISONERS, but Rascar Capac is pure nightmare fuel. I'll be interested to know how / whether they work around that.