This animated adventure, filmed with a motion capture
technique that keeps us just this side of the uncanny valley, features
‘splosions, chases, floods, storms at sea, pirates, more ‘splosions, elaborate
and exhilarating chases, a massive flood, a great mystery, and gun battles in
which all of TinTin’s adversaries seem to forget how to aim at just the right
moment.. What more do you want?
Here’s the setup: TinTin, an investigative reporter, finds
himself in the middle of a mystery.
He has, unwittingly, purchased that most dangerous of all objects: a
Maguffin. Problem is, he’s unsure
exactly what the Maguffin is and why anyone would want it, much less kill for
it.
The Maguffin, of course, is just a reason to get TinTin on
the road to adventure, just as Maguffins have in the past and, one assumes,
they will again. The joy of TinTin lies in the road itself, in the
delightfully idiosyncratic characters our protagonist meets there, and in the
flawless execution of the film’s elaborate set pieces.
Though created with 3D in mind, the film looks beautiful on
an iPad, its voice acting is first rate, and its story blends just the right
amounts of danger and levity. I
can’t wait for the sequel.