— June 10th, 2012 —



Movie Review: “The Adventures of Tintin”


Tintin. Comparatively few Americans know the name, but in Europe, he’s very well known: Tintin is a young man, a journalist, who travels the world with his dog, Snowy, and his sea-captain sidekick, Captain Archibald Haddock. Written in the early/mid 20th century, Tintin’s escapades are presented in comic-book form by the Belgian author Hergé—and this film, directed by Steven Spielberg, is a combination of three of those stories.
 
After purchasing a beautiful model of a ship, Tintin is thrust into a mystery of three brothers, three ships, and lost treasure. Kidnappings, escapes, gunfights, and crash-landings—the entire film feels very much like an Indiana Jones film (without the language, occultism, and adult content, thankfully). From picturesque Middle-Eastern cities and adventures on the high seas, to car chases and messages written with blood—it’s all in here. Not to mention the fact that young Tintin is also an excellent example of a responsible young man who seizes a situation and takes control.
 
And oh, the music! John Williams’s score for The Adventures of Tintin is epic, loud, and adventurous, and yet at the same time maintains a precise delicacy and subtlety in the orchestration and performance that brings a wonderful balance to everything. It’s really a beautiful work of art—not unlike a auditory dance where all the instruments step, flit, leap, and fly gracefully around each other to create a beautiful experience. All elements are masterfully unified, but nowhere is such a unity a muddy one.
 
The Adventures of Tintin is an action-packed film for the family—and I’m eagerly waiting the second installment! Isaac Botkin has written a far more in-depth review here.
 
 
 
INDECENCY: Other than perhaps one or two innuendos (I couldn’t tell), none.
 
LANGUAGE: One “swear to God”, one use each of “hell” and “damned”. Also, some odd exclamations like, “Ten thousand thundering typhoons!” and “Great snakes!” and the like.
 
VIOLENCE: Punching and gunfire mostly. There is destruction of private property both during a chase through a city and at a climatic battle towards the end between two enemies. A man is shot to death (we hear gunfire) and he dies on someone’s doorstep, after writing a message with his blood on a newspaper.
 
OTHER NEGATIVE ELEMENTS: Captain Haddock is a drunkard for the first portion of his screen time, until he appears to overcome his addiction with the help of Tintin. In another scene, in order to save an airplane from crashing into the ocean, a man belches very loudly into the fuel tank of the plane—causing the engine to quite literally “run on fumes.”
 
AGE RANGE: While not graphic, some sequences are tense and may cause a discomfort to very small children.



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