I know, I know, I am very late in watching this movie. The DVD was lying on my To-Watch shelf for the longest of times. I finally managed to watch it last night and I can safely say I had a ball of a time.

The Adventures of Tintin is based on Herge’s comics of the same name and the movie uses three of Tintin’s adventures as its premise: The Crab with the Golden Claws (1941), The Secret of the Unicorn (1943), and Red Rackham’s Treasure (1944). After having purchased a model of a ship, The Secret Unicorn, Tintin finds himself embroiled in a precarious situation as others are also after the same ship. From the outdoor market streets in Brussels to the fictitious city of Baaghar, Morocco, Tintin meets up with Captain Haddock which forms an interesting and a unique introduction. Following Tintin are the two police detective, Thompson and Thomson. Escaping the villain, battling battles, surviving the seas and outrunning the thieves in the crowded Morrocan city, The Adventures of Tintin gives you just that: a pure adrenalin rush.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, the movie has shades of Raiders of the Lost Ark all over. The close calls, the villain, the car chase, the sword fights all encapsulate the daring and dangerous encounters extremely well. I wish I had actually seen this movie in Imax 3d and not on a DVD. Spielberg is a genius and he’s done a wonderful job with this movie. The Secret of  the Unicorn is planned as a first part of a trilogy, with the second one coming out at end of 2015.
Two things I absolutely loved:

1. The music. John Williams composed the music and it becomes as much as part of the movie as the characters itself. The high note crescendos to heavy thumping bass, it perfectly captures the essence of being on an adventure (I couldn’t hep but think of Indiana Jones!)

2. While I was skeptical of the animation (real live motion technology), I was very pleasantly surprised by the warmth and emotions of the characters. Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddock all had real depth to their characters, even though they are animated. In the hands of Spielberg, this movie turned out to be a real hidden gem.

Not everyone will take a liking to it, and I have to say I am very biased because I grew up reading and collecting Tintin comics. So for me personally it was a trip down memory lane and boy am I glad I went down there or what!

4 out of 5