Herges Adventures of Tintin and Motion Capture

I went to see Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn yesterday and I have mixed feelings about it.

THE GOOD

There were some fantastic action sequences, high end motion capture, a couple of great characters and some really nice references to the source material.

Captain Haddock is great

The heart of the story was Captain Haddock, of all the characters in the film, he makes the transition into digimation the best. His clothes, facial features, animation, expression and voice were all brilliant. The film combines the first time Tintin and Haddock meet in The Crab with the Golden Claws with the story of The Secret Of the Unicorn. It seems a logical move, the story of The Secret of the Unicorn (and its second part Red Rackham's Treasure) is rich and varied. It combines many of the classic Tintin elements: exotic locations, history, treasure hunting, a big cast of well formed characters and big action sequences. The book comes in the middle of the Tintin canon so some of the characters have already been established with readers. It makes sense to add to this the first meeting of Tintin and the Captain from The Crab with the Golden Claws to introduce the Captain properly. As a result the Captain is really the main character of the film and it is his journey we are following.

Captain Haddock and Andy Serkis at the premiere in my head

Andy Serkis is great

The most important thing about the Captain is he is full of life and character which I can only imagine is thanks to Andy Serkis and Weta Digital (the team behind the motion capture for Gollum in the Lord of The Rings trilogy and countless other big effects movies). Serkis is a great motion capture artist. Many actors come to motion capture thinking it a lesser art, and don't understand the kind of performance required (Nolan North is probably the other master of this art). Serkis has a physicality which is not lost in the process of animation. He hits all the right beats in his movement and expression and does it with subtlety. Nothing is over played, it comes through just the right amount. He articulates a lot about his character through his movement, in a similar way to what he did as Ian Drury in Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll. It is his flexibility to deliver performances in so many guises which makes him special, a motion capture specialist, he has convincingly portrayed everything from game characters (Enslaved: Oddysey to the West) to apes (The Rise of the Planet of the Apes). To complete the character Serkis also delivers the best voice acting in the film and a solid Scottish accent to boot. Weta digital do a fantastic job with the Captain and it must the thanks to Serkis giving them so much to work with and their ongoing collaboration.

Its fun

The action sequences range from light hearted and fun to suspenseful and thrilling, the best of which (and in turn the best sequence in the film) is a drunken hallucination dreamt up by the Captain. It contains great action, big bangs and fantastically detailed animation.

There are things for fans

Throughout the film there were little visual references to the Tintin universe. Tintin starts the film having his portrait painted by a 'market artist' in a sequence which will send shivers down the spine of any fan. Tintins house contains newspaper cuttings and items from previous adventures, as does a moroccan palace midway through. Some of the scenery is constructed from disguised items from other books, there are lots of moments like this which are reminiscent of the attention to detail in the fantastic Pixar fins, in particular the environmental modelling of Radiator Springs in Cars. The film is at times incredibly beautiful and occasionally a frame will come up which perfectly builds upon a frame from the books.

THE BAD

For all the good work of Andy Serkis it can't make up for some of the other cast members.

With the exception of Serkis it seems the casting was focussed on big names (Daniel Craig) or a more traditional likeness on celluloid (Jamie Bell). It would have been better to build a cast based on their motion capture and voice talent.

Red Rackham isn't scary

Craig is disappointing, his voice is a bit quiet and generally his performance isn't as creepy as it needs to be. Red Rackham is a classic pantomime villain in the books but here he lacks the edge to invite a boo hiss at his presence. Some of the cragginess of Craig's expression is carried over nicely but it doesn't do enough to make up for his other problems. 

Simon Pegg and Nick frost are a complete miss

I think Pegg and Frost are really funny and full of character in other films but they hide it, it could be anyone. Their voices lack any character or credibility and they nullify any funny lines they are given with a distinct lack of timing. There also seems to be a problem with their facial animation. The twins have round faces in the books with large moustaches and this seems to be a barrier. Often they the voices look completely detached from the faces. In the books a lot of expression comes from their cheeks, eyebrows and eyes. In the film their faces are usually motionless, and characterless. I think this might be, in part, to do with a lack of familiarity with the characters. By the time Herge got round to The Secret of the Unicorn he had been carefully adding and refining his characters over some time. He evolves their facial expressions and can sum expressions up in a single frame with a few clean lines. It would be hard for anyone to reach such a level of animation in one film.

Tintin is a bit of a passenger

Jamie bell has some physicality about his acting (possibly from Billy Elliot), but his movements and voice are too child like and naive. He portrays Tintin as floating through the adventure with little conviction or knowledge. In the books however Tintin is wise beyond his years, and although he makes mistakes and embarrasses himself, like a TV detective, he usually knows more than he is letting on.

Snowy is just not cute enough

Snowy is probably the biggest disappointment. Like the Thompsons he loses a lot in digitalisation. He looks neither like a dog, or the Snowy from the books. His eyes often look very blank and his face is strangely motionless. Its such a shame because Snowy gets plenty to do in the action sequences and a loveable cartoon dog would have been a real selling point for a family movie like this.

Alls (not) well that ends (not) well

The end of the story is a bit dry. After some great action the film finishes on a wimper, and with a crane sequence which doesn't fit in the world of the movie. To give the Secret of the Unicorn its own ending (as it really just continues into Red Rackhams Treasure) the key twist over the two books is removed, I kind of see why but It finishes on a wimper, when it should end on a big climax. Tintin stories don't rely on structure but momentum. Things need to keep getting better and this one leaves you a bit bored.

I'm a big Tintin fan and I know this can get in the way but I think the objections I have listed are valid. There was a lot to like about the film and I especially enjoyed the middle section. I don't know if it had enough in it for me or not, I will have to see it again.