"The Adventures of Tintin"

Directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish, based on the comic series by Herge, starring Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, and Andy Serkis - Rated PG

I had a hell of a lot of fun with this movie.  If it's a children's movie, then consider me a child. 

When The Adventures of Tintin was announced I wasn’t sure what the big deal was.  Sure, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson were teaming up for it, but I didn’t understand why.  I, like most Americans, had never heard of Tintin, the young detective that most children grow up reading in Europe.  Initially, I planned on skipping Tintin and just waiting for the DVD, but an action-packed preview and good word of mouth convinced me to check it out.  I am certainly glad I changed my mind, because Tintin turned out to be one of the most fun, exhilarating experiences in the theatre this year.

After ten minutes of Tintin, it is very clear why Steven Spielberg wanted to make this film: without Tintin, Indiana Jones would not exist.  The Adventures of Tintin is the Indiana Jones movie that Spielberg never made.  It’s a mystery set in the past that spans the globe, filled with goofy characters and top notch action.  That sentence describes Tintin and any Indiana Jones film.  In fact, it’s safe to say that anyone who was disappointed by the last Indiana Jones movie will find satisfaction with Tintin. 

Tintin follows the adventures of the young reporter and his dog, Snowy, as they unravel the mystery of the Unicorn, a lost ship rumored to contain an immense treasure.  Along for the journey is the drunken Captain Haddock, whose ancestor was the captain of the Unicorn.  Tintin and Haddock go on a wild journey as they race against the evil Sakharine to get to the treasure first.  Turn the villain into a Nazi and add a supernatural element and this would be Indiana Jones.  As it is, it is a very fun, family friendly film.

I use the term “family friendly” because this film seems to be dismissed by some as a movie meant for children.  If you want to get cliché, you could say it’s a film for the child in everyone, but that’s weak.  Children will no doubt enjoy this film, but that doesn’t mean it is solely for younger audiences.  I myself was reminded of the first time I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Family friendly, children’s movie, whatever.  Tintin has such engrossing and amazing visuals and action sequences that you’ll forget what genre this film is supposed to be in.  If you’re like me, you’ll get so lost in it that you even forget this is an animated movie. 

The fact that Steven Spielberg has made his first animated movie should be enough to garner interest for this film.  Not only is this his first animated feature, but it is motion-capture animation (or mo-cap), and it is in 3D.  Spielberg is an absolute natural for this type of filmmaking and he truly takes advantage of the unlimited opportunities that mo-cap and animation open up. 

As for the look of the film, the mo-cap work here is just as good as any of the other standard bearers out there like Avatar and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  The animation is nearly photo-realistic at times while also maintaining a comic appearance.  The 3D is exactly what 3D should be.  You feel immersed within the film rather than having the film thrown at you.  Some of the more insane action sequences may have you rubbing your eyes, but that’s a good problem to have.

Motion capture means that the performances for the film were not just voice work.  Jamie Bell portrays Tintin with perfect innocence and energy.  Daniel Craig adds enough evil into his voice to the point that he is hard to recognize as Sakharine.  But, of course, Andy Serkis steals the show as Haddock.  Serkis is already the king of mo-cap and rightfully so.  His performance as Haddock is by far the most enjoyable performance of the film.  Some of the physical gags for Haddock are a bit goofy, but the character is consistently funny on many levels. 

Tintin is an amusing movie, even for a newcomer to the series.  Even though I was not in the know, I still recognized moments that were meant to play fan service.  I obviously wasn’t able to get that much enjoyment out of any character references or hidden jokes, but if you are aware of the series, there should be plenty going on in the background to keep you entertained.  If you’re just a Spielberg fan, though, there is a bit of fun had with some Jaws references, so American audiences shouldn’t feel too polarized.

Overall, Tintin turned out to be the surprise of the year for me.  I knew it wouldn’t be terrible because of the filmmakers involved.  But I was worried about the source material, since it was so unknown to me.  That fear was completely unfounded because it doesn’t matter what you know about the material as Spielberg has already prepped you for this film with the “Indiana Jones” series.  Tintin is just Spielberg’s love of a good adventure film coming to fruition in beautiful 3D, mo-cap animation.  So if you haven’t heard of Tintin before, now is a good time to get to know him.

Random Thoughts (SPOILERS)

After this film, I now think Spielberg is the obvious choice to make an Uncharted movie.  Although, I guess that would be too similar to this film and Indiana Jones for him.  Still, I couldn't help but think of that videogame while watching Tintin. 

Not complaining or anything, but they could have just lifted any John Williams score from the Indiana Jones series since his music for those films just seems natural for a film like this. 

The Thomson and Thompson characters were a bit annoying, but I guess fans of the series will enjoy them.  I did like the use of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost for their voices, though.

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Directed by Rupert Wyatt, written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, starring James Franco, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, Freida Pinto, and Andy Serkis - Rated PG-13

Ape prison? Humans and apes having a battle on the Golden Gate Bridge? Sounds ripe for a Kurgan, I know, but this film is just too interesting and engrossing. A Chigurh it is!

It has been the summer of the superhero this year but one of the best films of the season turned out to be a reboot of a beloved franchise. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, overlong title and all, may have been marketed as an action-packed Apes film, but it turned out to be one of the summer’s most engrossing films. Rise does the nearly impossible job of turning a CG creation into a character that you end up caring about more than the humans onscreen.

Rise is not a prequel but a reboot of the entire Planet of the Apes franchise. Starting over seems like a fine idea after the poorly received Tim Burton remake from 2001 (a film that I feel gets dismissed and bashed a bit too much). A remake isn’t all that interesting. Starting the story from the beginning and moving on from there? That sounds much better.

The film follows Will Rodman (James Franco), a scientist whose search for a cure for Alzheimer’s (his dad [John Lithgow] suffers from it) ends up creating a drug that turns a test ape into a super intelligent simian. Things go awry and Franco ends up taking care of the offspring of the ape, named Caesar. Over the next few years Caesar develops into an abnormally smart ape that isn’t sure how he fits in with the rest of the ape or human world.

Of course, anyone who has seen the original films knows where this story is eventually headed, but Rise still holds a few surprises. The most surprising aspect of the film is how much you end up caring about Caesar. He is truly the protagonist of the film and you probably won’t mind when the film leaves Franco’s character behind a bit to follow Caesar into a prison-type sequence, which is the strongest segment of the film. Caesar works partly because of the script, but the rest is due to very good CG and a motion capture performance from Andy Serkis (Gollum/Smeagol from Lord of the Rings).

Usually an entirely CG-created character just ends up looking odd and out of place, but Caesar feels like a real presence in this film. Sure, there are some less than polished moments that look a bit fake, but he looks real when he’s around human actors and that is all that counts. And Serkis does an amazing job not just in his movements but also with his facial gestures.

The rest of the cast is fine as well. Franco creates a sympathetic character, especially in his scenes with Lithgow. Tom Felton (better known as Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter films) is perfectly cast as an annoying primate reserve worker. Brian Cox isn’t given nearly enough to do as the reserve owner, though he does what he can in his few scenes. And Freida Pinto is fine as the girlfriend character that is basically just there to be the girlfriend character.

Rise is more about creating emotion than it is about showing action, despite what the action-heavy previews may lead you to believe. The film is definitely better for it, though. There are plenty of action movies out right now. It’s nice to see a character driven summer film. And there is still quite a bit of action later on in the film and it is shot very well. Director Rupert Wyatt allows his camera to get in the middle of the action. Early on he uses this technique to track Caesar as he climbs and roams around and it is nearly hypnotic at times and that use continues with the action, giving the film a bit of style.

Perhaps most importantly, though, this film reminds you of how great this franchise can be. First off, there are plenty of little nods to the original film and most of them also help to set up a possible sequel. The film leaves you wishing the story had kept going and that is certainly a compliment. There may not be a sequel for a while, but you can still check out, and appreciate even more, the original films.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is the beginning of what could be a very interesting and entertaining rebirth of the “Planet of the Apes” series. The attention to character and the film’s ability to create a compelling CG character are impressive enough on their own. Add some great segments, some interesting camerawork, and the promise of a new franchise and you end up with one of the summer’s nicest surprises.

Random Thoughts (SPOILERS)

I can't stress enough how much I loved the prison sequence of this film. The whole heirarchy of the reserve and how Caesar makes his way to the top was great, what with the use of cookie distribution and befriending a strongarm.

And how great were those sign language conversations with the orangutan?

I understand the marketability of adding "Planet of the" into the title, but I wish the original title of Rise of the Apes had been kept.

Here are some references to the original I noticed (you can check the boards at IMDb for a more complete list). There were a number of references to a lost space ship, referring to Taylor from the original...or setting up something for a sequel. At one point Caesar is playing with a Statue of Liberty puzzle figure. Tom Felton yells out that the reserve is a "madhouse" and even gets to deliver the classic "damn, dirty ape" line, though I felt the inclusion of that line was a bit cheesy and even took me out of the movie a bit. At one point a character is watching a Charlton Heston film (The Agony and the Ecstasy). The makeshift spears the apes use. And at one point Caesar rides a horse...which is awesome.