Day Twenty-seven - The Adventures of Tintin, or "I want this crew to do an Uncharted movie... RIGHT NOW!"

So, let me just give you a roll call:

Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Edgar Wright, Steven Moffat, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Jamie Bell, and Toby Jones.

Does that sound good enough for you? Cast and crew strong enough to tickle your fancy?

It certainly did mine.

Granted, when I saw Spielberg's name attached, I had mixed feelings because his projects are either really good or just meh... but when Jackson, Wright, Serkis, Craig and the others popped up as attached?

Golden.

And that's pretty much what The Adventures of Tintin is. It was like watching Raiders of the Lost Ark with even better writing and much more dynamic action sequences thanks to the tremendous job that WETA did on the CGI and motion capture.

Not constrained by the need for doable practical effects (or half-practical/half-cgi a la Transformers), the storyboard artists were able to go crazy and the computer graphics folks obliged them terrifically. This is none more obvious than during the chase sequence through the flooding streets of Bagghar.

Tintin and Haddock are chasing the villain and his mutinous crew while they, themselves, are being chased by the Sheik's guards. An errant rpg round sets the dam off and the next five to ten minutes encompass tons of action as so much is going on. We chase the principals, the pets, the scrolls... avoid gunshots, torrents of water, and a hotel that is being dragged along by a freaking tank!

Tons of things are happening, both on and off screen, in this single sequence and it's all brilliant! It was like watching an entire chapter play out in Uncharted with dynamic camera. THIS is what I want from my adventure films.

Acting-wise, everyone is superb... from the principals to the bumbling cops, Thomson and Thompson (voiced by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost... squee!), to the mutinous crew of Haddock's ship.

Everyone has just the right amount of personality and presence. I especially loved the crew. They have their own motivations and bumble around just as much as Thomson and Thompson, but still manage to have menace and never just fade into the background like so many stormtroopers of old.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it to everyone, especially those who like a grand old adventure.

Very cool that it's on Netflix, but it should also be in everyone's collection. Hope they make a sequel.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~