The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn…Exposed!

Posted: December 20, 2011 | Author: Donald | Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

 

Just in case we get a little lost along the way, I want to make it clear that I loved THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: SECRET OF THE UNICORN. I strapped in, I took the ride, I got worn the hell out, I got off…and I thought about the mechanics of the ride instead of the ride itself.

The ride was at the Candy Mountain!

 I think this is because Spielberg and co. got the movie 2/3 right; he nailed just about everything except in the character arena, and when you’re dealing with a far bigger canvas than the usual 4’X6″ Herge comic panel, you need those little touches to help the picture feel full. As it stands, in terms of pacing and overall story construction, the movie most closely resembles Spielberg’s own INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM — set piece after set piece with very little breathing room in between.

Kali-Mah!!!!!!!!!

 Sure, Spielberg stages these scenes with stunning aplomb and more than satisfies you in the visceral arena, it just seems very curious that he would choose not to develop the characters more, to give them more than just a few seconds to talk to one another and reveal things that just allow them to be alive — to maybe say one little thing that doesn’t contain some important plot information. Granted, this style is reflective of the source material — throughout the years, we never really got to know Tintin, Haddock, Calculus, the like. And I can imagine how Spielberg probably feels; when handling an iconic property that was not of his own creation, he felt obligated to stay out of the material’s way and not try to inflict anything upon it that didn’t come from  Herge’s own brush. He has far too much respect for Herge and his creation to change it too drastically, from both a visual AND a storytelling point. And, just this once, it works. Being that it’s the first film of a planned trilogy, it manages to do the setup job fairly well. But some gears are gonna have to be switched in the next installment if it’s going to last.

Up Next….The Good, The Bad, And The Tintin!!!!!!!

 

Josh Davis contributes to Rumblespoon as part of a community outreach program…..

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