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Amazon.co.uk Review
The deep love that young boys feel for planes, cars, and gadgets is the driving energy of Thunderbirds, a live-action movie based on the British puppet TV show of the 1960s. Bill Paxton (Near Dark, One False Move) plays Jeff Tracy, billionaire ex-astronaut, who's turned his family of heroic sons into a crack rescue squad, zooming to danger and saving people using super-sophisticated vehicles. The youngest boy (Brady Corbet) hasn't yet joined the team and resents every moment he's not in uniform---but he gets his chance when a malevolent villain called the Hood (Ben Kingsley, slumming a bit from Gandhi and Sexy Beast) traps the rest of the family on a crippled space station and turns the Thunderbird vehicles to his evil purposes. Expect bright colors, clumsy dialogue, and a less-than-thrilling plot, but many kids will enjoy the fantasy of a secret island, rocket ships, and flying cars. --Bret Fetzer
Synopsis
Based on the cult British television show from the 1960s, Thunderbirds explodes into the 21st Century with this thrilling live-action version of the franchise. Drawing on similar themes and familiar characters, director Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: First Contact) sticks closely to the spirit of the original show while making use of the new technology available to him 40 years after the program first aired to give the film a modern look. The International Rescue organization a team of highly organized law enforcers is the focal point for the movie. International Rescue is based on a remote desert island location, and is called into action whenever the world's sinister masterminds threaten to disturb the balance of society. Jeff Tracy (Bill Paxton) heads up the team, and employs his sons to help him out. Teenager Alan Tracy (Brady Corbet) is a little too young to join, and is constantly frustrated by his lack of opportunity to join the brothers on their missions. But when the evil villain known as The Hood (Ben Kingsley) traps the International Rescue team in outer space, it seems Alan's time has come. The Hood steals one of the many spacecrafts designed by International Rescue, and executes an outlandish scheme to rob the Bank of England. Alan and his pal Fermat (Soren Fulton) attempt the double-whammy of rescuing the trapped family and stopping The Hood, by drawing on help from the sultry detective Lady Penelope (Sophia Myles), her butler Parker (Ron Cook), and a few gadgets and vehicles courtesy of International Rescue. With comic references to the original show scattered liberally throughout the movie, and a sense of fun and adventure, this is a film that should appeal to both old and new fans of these popular crime-fighting characters.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Sponsorbirds are F*rd!,
This review is from: Thunderbirds [DVD] [2004] (DVD)
It speaks volumes in our fast-moving world that the original Thunderbirds television series still looks futuristic after nearly 45 years.
Against that, this Americanised live-action version is already looking a little dated after only five. Of course, maybe the buyer of this DVD doesn't care about some ancient history and just wants to know if this film is worth getting. Fans of the television series will know that what mattered was the saving of people in danger ("We're gonna die, Joe! we're gonna die!" "NO! Here come International Rescue") and the procedures to launch each of the Thunderbird craft, especially numbers 1 and 2. Neither of these elements features in the film - a monorail crashes into the Thames and we experience hardly a creak nor a twang (cf National Theatre of Brent) from the perspective of those trapped. The launches are perfunctory affairs. Instead, we find that the baddies are led by a sleepwalking Ben Kingsley as a decidedly non-Oriental Hood and, in a shameless display of ignorant sexism, Rose Keegan (Transom) is introduced rear-end-first as "foxy" (supposed to be good) but it is then revealed she has "bad teeth" (I quote - "eeuw") (which is supposed to be the reaction). Why does she try to get it on with Brains? Why should we care? On the one hand, the Tracy brothers look a bit like a toothpaste advert (even Alan is wearing a brace) but on the other they are irredeemably scruffy. Even the International Rescue uniform has become a kind of grey overalls... And the focus of the action is Tracy Island. In fact, this film's central character could be Bill or Ted but is actually Alan Tracy, who is involved in a chase caper across Tracy Island. Inexplicably, Brains has a son called Fermat and Tintin is said to be "blossoming" - yuk! Lady Penelope (Sophia Myles) is a successful Emma Peel-type take on the role. Parker (Ron Cook) (he played Chivery in 2008's "Little Dorrit") is quite good but isn't really given the lines to develop a character. There are several good extras about the making of the film though they are hard to access through a menu. The product placement is completely crass. Fords abound everywhere, and even FAB 1 (which everyone knows is a pink Rolls-Royce) is based on a heavily-modified American Ford Thunderbird, apparently. Overall, I see these CGI workers in garret rooms working hard on the film in the extras, I see Tracy Island, I even note that each Tracy brother has a flash of a different colour on his overalls, I note that they have filmed opposite the Houses of Parliament and in the Seychelles, I note that they even closed Tower Bridge to fly through it in real life, and I wonder how come the end result is not miles better! Just goes to show that pots of money are no substitute for true invention - like V for Vendetta's creator Alan Moore, the ghost at this feast who is not credited is Gerry Anderson...
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Thunderbirds fans: avoid,
By
This review is from: Thunderbirds [DVD] [2004] (DVD)
One serious question "Did the writers even the watch the original Thunderbirds series?!!" I mean, many adaptation of television series are not the most faithful like Inspector Gadget, The Flintstones and Mr. Magoo but this, this was just awful. For any strong Thunderbirds/Gerry Anderson follower, you will feel slapped in the face.
The film was almost simply aimed at pre/early-teens. The characters seemed ridiculously young for their parts. Nearly all the characters in the original series were adults but here, I am sure that Lady Penelope was played by a 12-year-old. The CGI was a mess. The space background looked low budget and the rockets itshelves has lost a lot of its uniqueness. The plot, I am not even going there! This is nonsence. If you are fan, then avoid at all costs. Instead, get the original puppets films from the 60s. This will only infuriate you.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great kid's film,
This review is from: Thunderbirds [DVD] [2004] (DVD)
I had avoided this film based on the bad reviews I'd read online. However, it was on television so I recorded it and watched it later with my 4 year old son. He has seen all of the original puppet series on DVD. He absolutely loved the new version. He saw awestruck at the flying scenes involving the Thunderbird machines. To him, he was flying in the cockpits alongside the Tracey brothers. He has asked to watch the film every day since and it is now clearly his favourite movie.
I can see why adults watching this film without children would dislike it. If I had first seen it on my own I would have been severely disappointed with it - the story is very childish. However, that is what kids want - and it works very well for them. Parents - if you want a safe, exciting film, give this a go.
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