Tin Tin is one of the most beloved comics and characters in the world. The adventures of this boy reporter traversing the globe in search of treasure and mystery has entertained generations. One of those many is Steven Spielberg in which such influence you can see in his past work with the character of Indian Jones. Spielberg has taken all he’s done to craft a very exciting and lush action adventure film for young and old alike.
The Adventures of Tin Tin begins with Tin Tin acquiring a model ship of a famous sailor. Soon after Tin Tin meets other who wish to own this model ship and refuses to part with it. Later on after Tin Tin does some research on the ship he returns home to see that his home has been broken into and the ship taken and quickly after a man shot before his eyes. That leads Tin Tin in an adventure to find out who did and why and also introduces him to Captain Haddock who recently had been victim of mutiny on his ship.
Spielberg has crafted with the screenwriters Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish the most fun and action packed animated film since Pixar’s The Incredibles. The film made in the motion capture technique like Polar Express and A Christmas Carol but while it still tries to look like realistic people there is enough exaggeration in the character design so that they retain a semblance of their classic look. The score by John Williams is also very fun and playful. It feels like music to explore to and really swells during the big moments.
Another great thing in this film is a giant flashback set piece in the middle of the film that is of a pirate battle. It seems that Spielberg a fan of the genre sought out to show every other filmmaker how to do it. The pirate sequence really stands out as the shining moment of the whole film. This film though is not with out flaws. After that pirate set piece the film seems to become nothing but set piece after set piece to a point that at the climax you really don’t know it’s the climax because it’s just another set piece in a series of set pieces. Also some of the humor and pratfalls don’t go over well some are a bit to close together or over saturated.
Overall Tin Tin is great fun time at the movies and sets this up as franchise for future installments. This film should do very well internationally since Tin Tin is still very big globally. It seems that unlike previous years this one has glut of big summer like movies in the holiday season but this is one that you should make time to see especially if you have a big group outing. Everyone will enjoy such a visually lush and exciting world adventure. It’s like New Old Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Final Grade is B+
published originally on Reel Film News