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Generally favorable reviews - based on 40 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 344 Ratings

  • Starring: Andy Serkis, Jamie Bell
  • Summary: The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn is the first in the series of 3D motion capture films based on the iconic character Tintin, the intrepid young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure. (Paramount Pictures)

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 40
  2. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. 100
    Everything he did in live-action movies with rolling boulders and runaway convoys he does bigger and better - by a factor of ten - in every frame. At the end of two hours, my jaw ached from grinning.
  2. Reviewed by: Jordan Mintzer
    Oct 24, 2011
    80
    A visually dazzling adaptation of the legendary – at least outside the US – comic book series by Belgian artist Herge.
  3. Reviewed by: Keith Uhlich
    Dec 20, 2011
    80
    This lifelong Tintin fan was more than pleased, even while having to acknowledge that the movie lacks the subtle state-of-the-world commentary that Hergé often smuggled into his creation.
  4. Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    Dec 20, 2011
    60
    The film is spectacularly constructed, from intimate closeups to dizzying chase scenes. But as is often the case with this format, the motion-capture animation feels weirdly lifeless.

See all 40 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 92 out of 103
  2. Negative: 3 out of 103
  1. Oh get ready for a glorious adventure in the worlds most amazing places. What a great animated movie I was so thrilled by seeing it that i didn't movie a single second from my seat. Really full of jaw dropping adventure you can't wait for the sequel mind blowing movie hats off to the great director and producer (steven spielberg and peter jackson) two of them are the great story teller of our time. Full marks to TINTIN. Expand
  2. A great movie that hopefully spawns a few sequels. It's got your action, humor, and mystery all included, and will appeal to people of all ages so it's a great movie to watch for a family movie night. Expand
  3. If your looking for sentimentalism or deep character development this isn't quite the movie your looking for, Tintin, however, is an exhilarating thrill ride from start to finish.In this picture, Spielberg seeks mainly to entertain, not necessarily teach or challenge his viewers. This "Indiana Jones-esque" film is fast paced and filled with very witty dialogue, charming characters and a clear yet compelling story. It is visually stunning; much effort was evidently placed on the animation and detailed sound design; the editing and 'cinematography' also gave it a very cinematic look (kudos to that single shot chase scene) and John Williams gives another exceptional score. Despite these positives, the movie is quite exhausting: there was non-stop action-adventure with very little time for air. Yes, that's right, Tintin could have done very well with more development, to fully flesh out the characters and add more weight and depth to the solid story. The narration needed more patience, but, the movie was way too much fun to let this get in the way too much. Expand
  4. I was a longtime fan of the Tintin comics growing up, and was pleasantly surprised to see that no less than Steven Spielberg was going to direct the big screen adaptation. I thought the motion capture animation looked like an interesting idea for adding some oomph to the simple-but-charming illustrations of the original material, and I was glad to hear they decided to adapt the Secret of the Unicorn arc, which stands out as one of the best stories in the oeuvre.

    Unfortunately, the result was mediocre. Tintin the character is fine as portrayed ("Great snakes!"), but then he was always just the generically heroic straight man who existed mainly to keep the story moving forward. The real charm of the series has always been the supporting players, none more so than the irascible, irrepressible Captain Haddock, and this is where the movie falls short. The Captain in particular is handled just terribly; he's presented as a sloppy, drunken maniac, constantly bouncing off the walls and either bellowing at the top of his lungs or wallowing in sniveling self-pity. They reduce him to a broad comic relief buffoon who is far less entertaining than the character from the books (plus they give him a heavy Scottish brogue, which was absent from his written dialogue). Other than him, the Thomson twins are merely adequate, as is Bianca Castafiore (why they would decide to include her and leave out Professor Calculus I can't imagine). The one character I thought they really handled well was Snowy, who both looks adorable and acts like the Snowy I grew up with.

    While I thought the motion capture animation was fine, it bothered me how they kept bending over backwards to create enormous setpieces full of pratfalls and over-the-top destruction. Yes, Tintin gets into his share of scrapes, but he's not James Bond. It's a stretch to have him zipping all over a Middle Eastern city on a motorcycle laying waste with a bazooka and playing chicken with a building-crushing tank. And don't even get me started on the dueling cranes. All of this, plus the fact that they mashed up two distinct Tintin stories for no apparent reason, leads me to suspect the creators didn't have much appreciation for the source material and were just trying to make a generic action-comedy to pack butts into seats.
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See all 103 User Reviews

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