As I said, they bypass Red Rackham's treasure & cut short to hall. But in the end, Tintin reassures Haddock that they might find more in that island. Don't think they'd make it as another film. On outset, it might be a wild-goose chase, but it's much more than that. It's meant to be a journey where they put themselves in Sir Francis shoes. And Calculus would be able to trace the documents back to the Hall. Tintin would have been kidnapped in Red Unicorn & discovers the cellar then. But it's put to use in the next novel. The cyclical end & complexity of the journey is its specialty.
But here, it seems like they wanted to provide a payoff for the audience. And since they have this descendant rivalry. Sakharine vs Haddock as RR v/s Sir Francis Haddock. there's also a crane fight like a sword fight. The kind of thing that Herge would resist deeply. But it's just how Spielberg envisages I suppose. You need to take some distance from the exact specifics, but you could easily digest within confines of a Tintin Universe. Once again, Spielberg identifies with the more patriarchal figure, Haddock. So he gives that man a sense of purpose, "Only a Haddock" it's said.
Sid, Could you find out if they'd play Taxi Driver again?
