Mar 20 The Adventures of Tintin - Blu-ray Review
4.7 Stars (out of 5) – Rated PG
Synopsis
Blockbuster filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson team up for this 3-D motion capture adaptation of Georges Remi's classic comic strip, centered around the adventures of fearless young journalist Tintin (Jamie Bell) and his trusty dog, Snowy. (Buy Now $27.99)
Listen to the Review
Starring:
Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Toby Jones, Mackenzie Crook, Daniel Mays, Gad Elmaleh, Joe Starr, Kim Stengel, Sonja Fortag, Tony Curran
Director:
Steven Spielberg
Blu-ray Release Date:
March 13, 3012
Subtitles:
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Rating
Overall rating weighted as follows:
Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt
Audio 4.9 Stars (out of 5)
Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison
- Subwoofer – 4.5 Stars
- Dialog – 5.0 Stars
- Surround Effects – 5.0 Stars
- Dynamic Range – 5.0 Stars
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
This DTS-HD audio mix sounds anything but tinny. The dynamic range is great and sounds clean an sharp. The LFE gets a decent amount of activity during action sequences. Gunshots have tight pops, explosions are heavy, cannons boom, and thunder is deep and rolls into the rear speakers. Dialog never gets lost in the mix, and always sounds crisp. Surround effects were the most impressive aspect of the audio. Rear speakers envelope you in the action with buzzing airplanes, gunshots, cars that wiz by, and airplanes that seem to fly overhead. In fact it was so effective, barking dogs in the movie had my dog racing around the room looking for another canine invading on his territory.
Video 5.0 Stars (out of 5)
Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison
- Color Accuracy - 5.0 Stars
- Shadow detail – 5.0 Stars
- Clarity – 5.0 Stars
- Skin tones – 5.0 Stars
- Compression – 5.0 Stars
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC, Resolution: 1080p, Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1, Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
With the help of Peter Jackson’s Oscar winning special effects company Weta, Tintin is a gorgeous movie to watch. Everything looks realistic and digital effects rarely enter the uncanny valley. Colors are vibrant and help bring life to cloudy skies, Captain Haddock’s blue turtleneck, and the bright purple dress of the songstress. Clarity is so sharp and detail, everything looks photo realistic. Individual hairs can be seen as they blow in the wind, grain on wood is easily noticeable, thin tiny hairs on eyebrows can’t be missed, and even reflections seen on eyeballs can be admired. Shadow detail is amazing, and skin colors look real and even feature tiny wrinkles and freckles.
Bonus Features 3.5 Stars (out of 5)
- Toasting Tintin: Part 1 (1080p, 1:24): Cast and crew celebration beginning motion capture on January 23, 2009.
- The Journey to Tintin (1080p, 8:54): The journey of bringing Tintin to the big screen.
- The World of Tintin (1080p, 10:46): Discussion about the history of Tintin.
- The Who's Who of Tintin (1080p, 14:18): A look at the actors who’s voices and motion captured performances brought the film to life.
- Tintin: Conceptual Design (1080p, 8:38): Crew members share the process of designing the film and translating the books.
- Tintin: In the Volume (1080p, 17:54): Explains the process of creating the movie in the digital world.
- Snowy: From Beginning to End (1080p, 10:11): Interviews discussing bringing Snowy to life.
- Animating Tintin (1080p, 11:00): A look at the complex job of creating the animations and virtual sets for the movie.
- Tintin: The Score (1080p, 7:01): An interview with score composer John Williams.
- Collecting Tintin (1080p, 3:58): A look at the design of Tintin figurines.
- Toasting Tintin: Part 2 (1080p, 3:12): A final toast celebrating finishing the film on September 15, 2011.
- BD-Live.
- DVD Copy.
- UV Digital Copy.
- Digital Copy.
Movie – 3.5 Stars (out of 5)
Review
The Adventures of Tintin is an entertaining film that has enough action to rival an Indiana Jones movie. Tintin has always been more popular in Europe, but film does a good job of bringing Tintin to an American audience. It’s strange to see a teenage boy travel the globe wrapped up in an adventure where he must handle a gun and fight along side an alcoholic sailor. Somehow this movie is considered a PG family film. My kids did enjoy it, but the script could be a little too intricate for some young ones. At times, I had to explain what was happening, and what the clues meant to the overall mystery.
If you wanted to know what happened to Tintin’s parents and why he became a reporter; you won’t find them here. Since it was never explained in the books, there is no back story on the main character at all. However, this made me feel less connected Tintin, and it somehow made him seem emotionless. This is Steven Spielberg’s first time directing an animated film, and he was free to experiment with new technology to do fascinating things he couldn’t do before. For instance, there’s an impressive action sequence that happens in one long take, and the camera goes places that’s physically impossible. Tintin has great action, beautiful effects, and a globe trotting story and could became a family favorite for adventure lovers.
Reader Comments (1)
I agree with the overall rating of the movie.
As a Dutchman I grew up reading the Tin Tin adventures (Kuifje he is called in the Netherlands and Belgium) some 35 years or more ago.
I think the movie perfectly captures the atmosphere of my reading experience back than!
As you may recall for your self reading such adventures when your a 10 or 12 year old kid in the era where PC and game consoles didn't exist is nothing to compare with today youngsters view of the world.
Steven Spielberg and his crew must have had the same feel when doing the movie.
Thank you for reviewing this great movie