The Adventures of Tintin

Steven Spielberg has got to be one of the best storytellers of our time. Even though he directs, they way he paces his work, the way he handles his actors in precarious situations adds to the storytelling. This is definitely true when it comes to "The Adventures of Tintin".

This is the story of a young lad, Tintin (Jamie Bell) who buys a model ship, the Unicorn at a market for a pound. This purchase really intrigues Tintin when, right after his purchase, a gentlman named Sakharine (Daniel Craig) insists on buying it from the lad at any cost. When Tintin refuses, he eventually kidnaps Tintin and his wonderful dog, Snowy and they board a ship bound for Morocco at the court of a sheikh, Ben Salaad (Gad Elmaleh), who also has a model of the Unicorn.

Sakharine, meanwhile, has manipulated mutiny against its drunken captain, Haddock (Andy Serkis), so he, Tintin and Snowy escape arriving in Morocco. Haddock ends up spilling his guts about his ancestry 300 years ago whereas Sir Francis Haddock was forced to battle the original Unicorn when attacked by Sakharine's ancestor, pirate Racham. But he managed to save some of his treasure and carefully provided clues with three scrolls hidden in three model Unicorns of its whereabouts. Will Tintin, Haddock, Snowy and help of the Thompson twins (Nick Frost and Simon Pegg) from Interpol be able to obtain all three scrolls before Sakharine?

Others to round out the cast are Daniel Mays as Allan/Pirate Funk #1, Toby Jones as Silk, and Enn Reitel as Nestor/Mr. Crabtree.

This was brilliantly directed by Spielberg ("Duel" (TV movie) '71, "Sugarland Express" '74, "Jaws" '75, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" '77, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" '81, "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" '82, "The Color Purple" '85, "Empire of the Sun" '87, "Jurassic Park" '93, "Schindler's List" '93, "Amistad" '97, "Saving Private Ryan" '98, "Minority Report" '02, "Catch Me If You Can" '02, "The Terminal" '04, "War of the Worlds" '05, "Munich" '05, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" '08, "War Horse" '11) and many others. As aforementioned, by his very resume, one can see how this guy was so influential when it came to the storytelling. Spielberg is truly an entertainer.

It was creatively written by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish which was based on the comic book series "The Adventures of Tintin" by Herge. I have to believe that Spielberg had a certain amount of script input, because this story, many times, just has you on the edge of your seat, and this is a definite trademark of Spielberg's. It did jump around a slight bit, but not enough to take away from the roller coaster ride at hand.

The visual effects were created by Weta Digital, Ltd. (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and was handled with absolute seamlessness and realism. Looking at some characters makes you think, at a glance, that they are real and not animated, which makes one look twice. This is truly a wonderful film for all to see, young and old alike. It has all the elements of a classic: adventure, excitement, danger, great storytelling, and equally great effects all presented in 3D and IMAX. No matter what your age is, you will leave the multiplex feeling a little bit better than when you arrived, and isn't this what being entertained is all about?

Out of 4 stars: 4                          Rated: PG                        107min.