Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
2011
***
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Enn Reitel, Tony Curran, Toby Jones

Young but fearless reporter Tintin purchases a model of the ship Unicorn, which is subsequently stolen, with only a cryptic scroll left behind. It leads Tintin and his dog Snowy on a rip-roaring adventure and introduces them to Captain Haddock. Steven Spielberg is a long-term fan of Hergé's comic book hero, and his adaptation is very respectful to the source material. He has created the characters through motion capture technology, which gives them a slightly unreal look. In fact, the whole thing feels more like a computer animation than a live action film. The screenplay by the British writer trio (Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish) combines elements from three different stories, The Secret of the Unicorn, The Crab with the Golden Claws and Red Rackham's Treasure, but the irony is that there really isn't much of a story here at all. However, there are some highly entertaining action set pieces.