If the first half introduces us to the failed Captain Haddock who believes has let down his family name with his wayward actions, the second half takes place in the gorgeous Morocco where Tintin helps Captain Haddock redeem himself. Captain Haddock recollects his grandfather’s folklore in a brilliant scene where the past and the present intersperse with one of the best scene transitions seen in recent times. It is Captain Haddock’s strongly written character that drives the story forward, belonging to the lineage of Sir Francis Haddock (Andy Serkis) who in his attempt to save his men and the treasure earns the curse of Red Rakham (Daniel Craig). The location of the buried treasure is known only to the perpetually inebriated Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis in his second motion-captured performance of the year) a man whose alcohol induced stupor earns the disgust of Tintin and also saves his life. Tintin (Jamie Bell) is an inquisitive reporter whose purchase of a miniature ship earns him an enemy in Ivanovich Sakharine (Daniel Craig), for the ship holds the key to a lost treasure that he feels is a rightful heir to.
Yet, from the moment our hero is introduced I could not help but be enamored by his boyish looks and innocent charm, throw in the oh-so-cute Snowy who bowls you over with his antics into the picture and you could feel yourself rooting for this wonderful duo. I as a complete stranger to the world of Tintin was not much perturbed by being unaware of his exploits, I was not aware of the newspaper he worked for, I was blissfully unaware of his last name, if ever there was one, I had no idea of what his life was like, I had no clue of what drove him for his thirst of adventure. Spielberg in this case relies on Herge’s already created legend and throws us right into the action, which could irk die-hard fanboys of Tintin if they expected his story to be told right from fleshing out his character detail.
Spielberg’s Tintin is one of his most weakly written characters but for a purpose, unlike Indiana Jones a Tintin like thrill-seeker for whom enough character detail had to be etched out for the viewers to have any sort of emotional connection. From the minutest of colors and expressions, to the larger-than-life action and explosions, each detail is finely captured and brought onto the big screen. Right from its stunning opening credits that look similar to “Catch Me If You Can” to the final scene which hints at a sequel, there never is a dull moment.