Flight 714 (The Adventures of Tintin)

Yet again, we get a glimpse of Herge's creative genius in this action-packed Tintin adventure. This Tintin adventure is unlike any other simply because it has hints of being based on some sort of a magical success-formula, not unlike one that would ensure a James Bond movie box-office hit! In sort, it features an eccentric millionaire, an airplane hijacking, a secret island base of Tintin's archrival- the evil Rastapopulous, the return of Captain Haddock's nemesis- Allan (from "The Crab with the Golden Claws", "The Red Sea Sharks"), and also the return of a friend-Skut (from "The Red Sea Sharks"), lot's of gunmen, volcano eruptions, and even a mysterious alien encounter. The plot is quite simple: Rastapopulous wishes to obtain millionaire Lazslo Carreidas's fortune by kidnapping him and getting him to, rather willing fully, reveal his wealth-related secrets- of course with the aid of a scientist's "truth formula" injection. However, getting Tintin, Captain Haddock, Snowy, and Professor Calculus into the picture changes the simplicity of the equation. The artwork, as is the case with the last Tintin book (Tintin and the Picaros), is simply outstanding among all Tintin books-which are already top quality in the first place! One scene I fondly remember is that of Allan catching sight of a monkey and then trying to recall who it reminds him of (based on the shape of its nose), and then realizing that it reminds him of none other than his boss-Rastapopulous. Herge's drawing of Allan's facial expressions (and even Rastapopulous's, as he seems to realize what's in Allan's mind) in this sequence, yet again, displays how effortlessly he could make his characters "talk" to the reader. It is peculiar to note how different this adventure is to its preceding one-The Castafiore Emerald, in which, our heroes don't even leave Marlinshire. Perhaps, Herge himself longed for Tintin to go on another exciting adventure. Definitely, one of the best Tintin stories, great for all ages and very entertaining!!!

1968's "Flight 714 to Sydney" was Belgian artist Herge's next-to-last finished adventure starring his cartoon hero, the young journalist Tintin, and he holds nothing back from the storyline. It features an eccentric millionaire, a kidnapping, some old enemies from earlier stories, a remote island in Southeast Asia, and a truly bizarre ending. As the story opens, Tintin, accompanied by his faithful dog Snowy, his sea-faring friend Captain Haddock, and the brilliant but hilariously deaf Professor Calculus, fall into company with the eccentric millionaire Carreidas, who offers them a ride on his experimental corporate jet from Indonesia to Australia. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft is hijacked by some of Mr. Carreidas' subordinates, who divert the aircraft to a remote volcanic island. After a hair-raising landing on a short, improvised runway, the captives are introduced to the real villain, a familiar evil face from earlier stories. He and his band of brigands plan to steal Mr. Carreidas' money and then kill everyone. The ever-resourceful Tintin finds a way for his friends to escape from the bad guys, but where to go on an island? On the run, Tintin and his friends take shelter in a cave, where they are trapped by the gunmen. However, they get help from an unexpected source, who will lead them away from the gunmen but toward the still active volcano. The ending is nothing if not unexpected. Herge's fully mature artwork is the perfect complement to an excellent story. "Flight 714 to Sydney" is a perfectly mad adventure, but one that is highly recommended to Tintin fans of all ages.

Great condition; great story

Always a fun read

Great storyline. This was my first Tintin book as a kid, and I have literally read it to pieces. Nice to pick up a new copy as an adult.

tin tin the classic I liked the glossy paper which was not the case in old days so it is more durable

Flight 714 is a great aerial kidnapping adventure story. Tintin, Captain Haddock, and Professor Calculus are en route to a Congress in Sydney, Australia, but their plane makes its first stop in Djakarta. There, they encounter their old friend Piotr Skut, who is one of the pilots of evil and childishly petty millionaire Laszlo Carreidas's private plane. Because he is also headed for Sydney, Carreidas invites the three to instead ride with him on his private plane. But it is is hijacked to Pulau-Pulau Bompa, a Polynesian island, by Carreidas's male secretary and two crooked pilots. They are greeted by none other than Tintin's old enemy Rastapopoulos and the Captain's corrupt former first mate, Captain Allan. Also prominent in the story is the creepy Dr. Krollspell, a specialist in truth serum. Tintin and Captain Haddock escape from captivity and battle the crooks, while Skut, the Professor, and the plane's steward stay in place. Rastapopoulos has won some of the native Sondonesians over, and they serve as his goons. There is a revolution, and Allan coaxes them against Tintin and company with "death to the enemies of the Sondonesian revolution." Tintin always has his share of helpers in his fight against evil throughout the series, but in Flight 714 this aspect enters a new realm -- literally. Also, there is an upheaval of nature on the island that brings the story to a climax. Carreidas is clearly as evil as the kidnappers, but through constant cutthroat, devious deceit he has managed to become rich and powerful within the law (or at least without being caught). Rastapopoulos and Allan have always tried to succeed outside the law, but they are always up against Tintin. One of the all-time greatest moments in the Tintin series takes place when Carreidas and Rastapopoulos face off in an extended competitive "who is worse" exchange. Carreidas had been injected with a truth serum, intended to pull from him a Swiss bank account number. However, Krollspell had accidentally hit Rastapopoulos with the needle too, while the evil tycoon had been raging that the serum was only causing Carreidas to confess how evil he was. In their exchanges, each would not tolerate the other saying he is more evil. Flight 714 has much more of a story than its predecessor "The Castafiore Emerald." However, it continues in the same vein in setting forth heavy psychological portraits of the characters, through their emotional speech and intense facial expressions (many grimaces, etc.), which are even stronger here and sometimes approach caricature. Surprisingly, this even includes Tintin, who has some real emoting. But comic relief usually imbues the situation. There were no villains in "The Castafiore Emerald," but the reader gets satisfaction by seeing Herge pick on the villains here, especially Rastapopoulos and Allan. Indeed, Rastapopoulos is not the slick guy of the past in this adventure, and there is no longer an aura of mystery about him. He is a victim of slapstick and his own klutziness, just like Captain Haddock always is, and he rages throughout the story, including raging at his underling Allan when things go wrong. But while Rastapopoulos is a beaten man, this does not really apply to Carreidas. His ranting cheap conceit and pettiness do not endear him well to either the heroes or the villains, and he gets some come-uppance. However, his evil self-absorption and selfish manner stick until the end. I give this book merely four and a half stars for personal reasons, just below five, but I think to many it would be a 5-star entry.

Never a problem with any of the several Tintin books, and I ordered- my tween grandson loves them!

I love it......................!

Good