The Adventures of Tintin
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: December 21, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
28
Mixed:
12
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinDec 26, 2011
Everything he did in live-action movies with rolling boulders and runaway convoys he does bigger and better - by a factor of ten - in every frame. At the end of two hours, my jaw ached from grinning. Read full review
100
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallDec 26, 2011
In a movie year of more than two dozen animated films, this and "Rango" tower over all others. Welcome to America, Tintin. It's great getting to know you. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleAmy BiancolliDec 20, 2011
Such are the timeless joys of the books (and now the movie), this sparkling absurdity and knack for buckling swash under the worst of circumstances. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranDec 20, 2011
Think of The Adventures of Tintin as a song of innocence and experience, able to combine a sweet sense of childlike wonder and pureness of heart with the most worldly and sophisticated of modern technology. More than anything, it's just a whole lot of fun. Read full review
90
VarietyLeslie FelperinOct 24, 2011
Clearly rejuvenated by his collaboration with producer Peter Jackson, and blessed with a smart script and the best craftsmanship money can buy, Spielberg has fashioned a whiz-bang thrill ride that's largely faithful to the wholesome spirit of his source but still appealing to younger, Tintin-challenged audiencs. Read full review
90
Boxoffice MagazinePete HammondOct 24, 2011
With the best use of motion capture yet, Spielberg has translated the story of the youthful Tintin, his spirited pooch Snowy and the eccentric Captain Haddock into a first class action adventure that serves as the perfect cross between "Pirates of the Caribbean" and Spielberg's own "Indiana Jones" series. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversDec 22, 2011
The movie comes at you in a whoosh, like a volcano of creative ideas in full eruption. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertDec 20, 2011
It evokes Saturday afternoon serials in an age when most of the audience will never have seen one. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed myself. Read full review
88
New York PostLou LumenickDec 19, 2011
Thankfully, Tintin is Spielberg at his most playful and unpretentious. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn LevyDec 20, 2011
Never quite as resonant as Spielberg's earliest "Indiana Jones" films, in which, for all the clamor, it often feels like something real and vital and human is at stake. But at its best, this film is as joyful as anything in those movies, and that is something of a movie miracle. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonDec 20, 2011
While it's essentially just another slick Spielberg action machine, it's operating effectively on all cylinders throughout. Read full review
80
Time OutKeith UhlichDec 20, 2011
This lifelong Tintin fan was more than pleased, even while having to acknowledge that the movie lacks the subtle state-of-the-world commentary that Hergé often smuggled into his creation. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerOct 24, 2011
A visually dazzling adaptation of the legendary – at least outside the US – comic book series by Belgian artist Herge. Read full review
80
EmpireIan NathanOct 24, 2011
Action-packed, gorgeous, and faithfully whimsical: Hergé thought Spielberg the only director capable of filming Tintin. He was onto something. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerDec 22, 2011
If, like me, you find the movie technique known as motion capture creepy, you might be put off going to see Steven Spielberg's 3-D The Adventures of Tintin. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezDec 21, 2011
The relentless pace is a big part of the fun. Who ever heard of a slow rollercoaster, anyway? You'll have to ride this one in the theater, though. It simply won't be the same at home. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaDec 21, 2011
And if there's a problem with Tintin, it's that it's too big and booming. Read full review
75
MovielineStephanie ZacharekDec 21, 2011
Everything in The Adventures of Tintin is meticulous - this is a Steven Spielberg movie, after all. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonDec 20, 2011
As a tale of a boy, his dog and their battles with bad guys, it's a treasure. Read full review
75
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottDec 20, 2011
Being a fan of the character is not a prerequisite for enjoying the film. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliDec 19, 2011
That's what we get with The Adventures of Tintin - an unplayable video game that's fast-paced and amusing but never coming close to the best director Steven Spielberg has offered when in his "pure entertainment" mode. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineBill WeberDec 4, 2011
Fast on its feet, using 3D and motion-capture animation to kick its comedy-adventure into a superhuman gear, Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin is a wittily kineticized adaptation of the internationally loved comic books. Read full review
70
TimeRichard CorlissDec 22, 2011
Motion capture, which transforms actors into cartoon characters in a vividly animated landscape, is the technique Spielberg has been waiting for - the Christmas gift, or senior-citizen birthday present that he's dreamed of since his movie childhood. Read full review
70
SlateDana StevensDec 22, 2011
Was The Adventures of Tintin a movie that I personally vibed with? Not really. It felt overstuffed and busy, its charm a little calculated, its outsized budget a tad too ostentatiously on display. But it's a rollicking yarn told with scads of invention and energy, not to mention a technical marvel of the first order. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'HehirDec 20, 2011
Although I personally still find the rubber-faced, pseudo-human figures produced by this technique unsettling, the work done by Spielberg and Jackson's animation teams here is exquisite. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzDec 19, 2011
Busy, busy. That's The Adventures of Tintin boiled down to its essence. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrDec 21, 2011
Quite simply, The Adventures of Tintin is a model of modern movie craftsmanship. It's also, I'm afraid, rather dull. Read full review
63
Washington PostAnn HornadayDec 20, 2011
Sadly, Herge isn't around to see The Adventures of Tintin, Spielberg's crisp, richly rendered animated adaptation, which could be counted as both a success and a failure. Spielberg has brought Tintin to the big screen all right, but not quite to life. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanDec 20, 2011
The film is spectacularly constructed, from intimate closeups to dizzying chase scenes. But as is often the case with this format, the motion-capture animation feels weirdly lifeless. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderBen SachsDec 26, 2011
Feels particularly mechanical. The movie isn't a complete waste: it adequately re-creates the comics' Dickensian characterization, and every frame brims with clever details. But once the action begins, Spielberg's incessant, force-fed "fun" quickly gets exhausting. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternDec 22, 2011
The motion-capture animation is spectacular..Yet the action grows wearisome as it grinds on, and the film becomes a succession of dazzling set pieces devoid of simple feelings. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovDec 21, 2011
A cracking good adventure film well worthy of classic Saturday-afternoon matinee status. It's also, in myriad ways, a more youthful version of Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark."...What you don't have, however, is a great movie. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorDec 20, 2011
Hergé was the pioneer of an even-handed style of cartooning with solid lines and no shading that became known as ligne claire, but there is a decided lack of clear lines in this erratic movie adaptation of his work. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigDec 20, 2011
The much-publicized collaboration between producer Peter Jackson and Spielberg sets high expectations. But while the technical artistry is there, the film lacks a sense of magic, intrigue and mystery. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsDec 20, 2011
I fear Spielberg and Jackson hitched their wagon to the wrong technological star here. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla DargisDec 20, 2011
Like the screen Tintin, the movie proves less than inviting because it's been so wildly overworked: there is hardly a moment of downtime, a chance to catch your breath or contemplate the tension between the animated Expressionism and the photo-realist flourishes. Read full review
50
Village VoiceNick PinkertonDec 20, 2011
Adventures is an awesome movie mechanism, but awe comes at a cost. The Tintin character is something like a blank spot at the movie's center, most vivid (unfortunately) as a plucky, priggish motivational speaker when he coaches Haddock out of a drinking problem. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanDec 19, 2011
His (Spielberg) The Adventures of Tintin jettisons character, back story, plot, depth and emotional ties to deliver 100 minutes of beautifully shot mayhem. It's handsome, hectic, heartless and hollow, a shiny Christmas box with nothing but glitter inside. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanDec 10, 2011
Even a filmmaker as dazzling as Steven Spielberg has to create characters who lure us into their point of view, and the trouble with Tintin is that we're always on the outside, looking in. What all that motion can't capture is our hearts. Read full review
50
The New YorkerDavid DenbyDec 5, 2011
Tintin is exhausting, and, for all its wonders, it wears one out well before it's over. Read full review
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