The Adventures of Tintin, directed by Steven Spielberg

There's a lot of promise that comes with a pairing of legendary director Steven Spielberg and the not too shabby Peter Jackson. What it promises, at a bare minimum, is an incomparable technical and special effects wizardry. The Adventures of Tintin has a lot of things working against it, from it's obscure hero to it's reliance on two hit-or-miss techniques in 3D and performance capture animation. But what it has going for it is Spielberg and Jackson's creative genius, vision, and desire to make Tintin the most fun, swashbuckling adventure since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Invoking the sacred Indiana Jones isn't one that's done lightly, but Spielberg hasn't made a film this big and spirited in years, and a lot of that has to do with the limitless freedom afforded him by Jackson and the team at WETA, the same folks who gave us the amazing mo-cap performances in Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Lord of the Rings.  Based on series of comics created by Belgian artist Herge back in 1929, Tintin(Jamie Bell) is a scrappy reporter with a lust for action and adventure. Think of him as part Jimmy Olsen, part Lara Croft minus the cool weapons. No, all he really has is his intuition, his tenacity, and his brave little dog named Snowy, who gets the bulk of the film's greatest laughs.

Tintin's latest puzzle quest begins innocently enough, with the purchase of a model three-masted ship from an unfortunate street vendor. Almost immediately Tintin is approached by mysterious figures, including the transparently villainous Ivan Sakharine(Daniel Craig), who want to claim the ship for themselves. Discovering that a clue hidden within the model may lead to untold treasures, Tintin finds himself on a journey that takes him across vast deserts and great oceans, aboard mighty pirate ships, and embroiled in more gun fights than your average Post reporter.

One of the most appealing aspects of the Tintin series is the way it balances some lethal stakes with a light-hearted touch, and thanks to a script by the geek dream trio of Edgar Wright(Shaun of the Dead), Joe Cornish(Attack the Block), and Steven Moffat(Dr. Who), the story is innocent and energetic enough for kids, while adults will love the snappy dialogue. Some parents may not dig Captain Haddock(Andy Serkis), a character who is perpetually drunk to the point his breath can jumpstart a plane engine. Despite it's charms, the film is not without it's faults, mainly surrounding the Tintin character himself. While his plucky nature is one of the film's great traits, he doesn't have the humor or the grit of your typical American action hero.

It should go without saying that Serkis, a performance capture vet who has played Gollum, King Kong, and is a possible Oscar contender for his role as Caesar this past summer, is excellent yet again. For years, we've watched Robert Zemeckis and others try to harness the potential of performance capture, but outside of James Cameron's Avatar, Peter Jackson is the only one to fully make good on it. This movie simply couldn't have been made with real actors, the free wheeling, rotating camera and exaggerated comic book style theatrics make it impossible. Spielberg hasn't had the chance to cut loose like this in a long time, and it's clear that with The Adventures of Tintin he's reveling in the opportunity.

As Harrison Ford only gets older, is it possible that Spielberg would consider making Indiana Jones 5 using performance capture? After seeing what he and it are capable of, it's clear what choice he should make.