THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN
January 1st 2012 20:39
Category: Movies
This is not the first animated Tintin movie, although it is the first to use the high degree of computer animation that is available to the modern movie maker. In a production directed by Steven Spielberg; he of ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Saving Private Ryan fame and produced by Peter Jackson, he of King Kong and the Lord of the Rings trilogy fame you would expect the product to be of extremely high quality. And let me say after seeing this film in my local cinema I was suitably impressed, not only with the production values in terms of animation but also the acting, the action and the quality of the story.
Tintin has had an impressive pedigree as a comic character originally being drawn by his creator Herge, a Belgian comic artist, who started doing Tintin stories of Le Petit Vingtieme in 1929 which is roughly some eighty two years ago. Since his first appearance in the pages of this journal Tintin has gone from strength to strength dealing with all manner of matters and issues. He has been involved in busting international crime rings, solving enigmas, retrieving stolen monarchical regalia and rescuing friends from the clutches of totalitarian regimes as well as going to the Moon. And he has been down through the years a very popular character with readers…in fact the only other major Francophone character that has ever been able to achieve similar success in the non Francophone world is Asterix the Gaul, as far as I’m aware.
Make no mistake though, Tintin is not some kind of muckraker as would be employed in the tabloids that are so prevalent in the Western world; no he is a true dedicated investigative journalist. One could say he is an archetype that is only found now within the world of fiction rather than in the halls of the various media empires that dominate and disseminate the information upon which ‘considered’ opinion is based. It’s an interesting choice of profession for a character, but then again it goes a long way to explaining why Tintin ends up getting involved in the affairs that he does. In this particular feature we find Tintin at the local markets posing for a portrait by an artist, he looks at the result and being suitably impressed pays the man then goes to look for his dog, the terrier Snowy, and his constant offsider.
It’s whilst engaged in this that he comes across the model of double deck, three masted man o war, a beautiful piece of work if ever there was one. Impressed with this particular creation Tintin dickers with the man who is selling it and eventually buys the ship for a pound. When you think about it considering that this movie is set in what looks to be the thirties or forties, a pound is a fair bit of money. Still Tintin thinks’ he has got a bargain…and he is about to find out just how much of a bargain he has bought. This simple event will prove to be pivotal to the drama that unfolds from this point onwards.
As soon as he buy’s the model sailing ship two very different individuals attempt to buy it off him, one an American who warns Tintin that he is getting himself into grave danger, the other a dapper red coated and goateed individual who tells Tintin to name his price…the stall keeper who originally sold the ship moans at his bad luck. This latter individual Sakharine will prove to play a very pivotal part in the events that are about to unfold, although neither Tintin nor his trusty sidekick Snowy have any real idea just how pivotal. Only when the mysterious American, later to be revealed to be an FBI agent, visits Tintin’s lodgings and is brutally gunned down does our gallant journalist realise that there is more to the model ship than meets the eye…
In essence the Secret of the Unicorn is a film about not only just buried treasure but revenge as well as redemption and a rollicking good action adventure flick. I was so impressed with the various characters and the realism of their depiction; from the looks of it the makers have employed a lot of motion capture not only in movement but also in facial features so that the character can be more emphatically portrayed. If it wasn’t for certain particular features of the characters, such as Captain Haddocks rather bulbous nose or the Thompson twins round faces, I would have a hard time saying that these were not ‘real’ people. Still as I remarked earlier what else would you expect from collaboration between two major movie makers such as Messer’s Spielberg and Jackson?
Frankly in my opinion if there is one movie you must see before the year is out then The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is that film; forget the rest and go see the best, especially if you’re a fan of Tintin or if you just want to see a good rollicking action filled flick with a tight taut story. If you don’t see it before year’s end, don’t worry it still be showing into the New Year without doubt. And wonder of wonders in this age it is very much a family flick, something you can take the kids along with no hassle so a win win situation in this holiday period.
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