... The Thunderbirds are out of action for most of the film (trapped as they are in a damaged Thunderbird 5, running out of oxygen and in danger of burning up inEarths armosphere) leaving it up to a trio of kids to take on most of the action. This makes it look like a pale imitation of the Spy ... Read review
Thunderbirds are GO! International Rescue run in secret by the Tracy family and led by ... more
Jeff (Bill Paxton) is permamently on standby to offer assistance when accidents and incidents threaten lives across the world. However when the villainous Hood (Ben Kingsley) infiltrates the Tracy's clandestine island base and imprisons most of the family who will rescue the rescuers? It's left to teenage Alan (Brady Corbet) and his similarly young friends to save the day!
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Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Advantages: Kingsley as the Hood. Thunderbird 2 always looks cool. Disadvantages: Its an absolutely dreadful waste of time.
...from a weak plot. The Thunderbirds are out of action for most of the film (trapped as they are in a damaged Thunderbird 5, running out of oxygen and in danger of burning up inEarths armosphere) leaving it up to a trio of kids to take on most of the action. This makes it look like a pale imitation of the Spy Kids films.
This could have been an excellent hard action thriller had they gone for dark and sinister and dramatic over comic ... ...money from banks using the Thunderbirds vehicles isn't even up to the standard of his neafrious plans in the old TV series. And it takes forever for him to evenget to the point of getting one of the Thunderbirds vehicles to work!
The trouble is the Tracey family come across as haughty rich assholes who think they are great who live a playboy existence on an Island. You actually want The Hood to win. Why he doesn't blow up Thunderbird ... more
I am sat watching this on a Satruday afternoon and it is one of the most appalling films I have ever had the misfortune to see.
It is excrutiatingly dull and pointless and has none of the charm and ingenuity of the puppet series. It suffers from a weak plot. The Thunderbirds are out of action for most of the film (trapped as they are in a damaged Thunderbird 5, running out of oxygen and in danger of burning up inEarths armosphere) leaving it up to a trio of kids to take on most of the action. This makes it look like a pale imitation of the Spy Kids films.
This could have been an excellent hard action thriller had they gone for dark and sinister and dramatic over comic book nonsense, comedy boing noises during fight sequences and annoying child actors, one of which looks like his head is made from plastic and playdoh, step forward Alan Tracey.)
Ben Kinglsey is perfectly cast as The Hood but has very little to do. His plot to steal money from banks using the Thunderbirds vehicles isn't even up to the standard of his neafrious plans in the old TV series. And it takes forever for him to evenget to the point of getting one of the Thunderbirds vehicles to work!
The trouble is the Tracey family come across as haughty rich assholes who think they are great who live a playboy existence on an Island. You actually want The Hood to win. Why he doesn't blow up Thunderbird 5 with another rocket while the Tracey boys are on it is beyond me. It would have saved a lot of trouble and made the film a lot shorter.
It was a seriously bad decision to make this as a jokey kid orientated yarn. The 60's series had humour in but it was in general played straight. The stories featured real people in trouble. A mini Irwin Allen disaster movie in nearly every episode. This filmdoes away with that. Had I gone to see this at the cinema I think I would have walked out and asked for my money back.
The sequences at the start of the film supposedly set in the US are clearly filmed in the UK and feel just very odd. There are too many characters, none of which you care about. Lady Penelope and Parker are the only 'goodies' that are any good. But even they are poorly written parts.
The worst bit of the whole travesty for me is the character of Alan and the actor playing him. Played as a cocky know it all who actually screws up and makes stupid decisions for the most part is just the type of person you'd gladly punch if the need arose. The rest of the Tracey clan have no character at all. Bill Paxton is wasted as Jeff, but then the whole of the Thunderbirds are wasted in this film.
I made a joke to a friend of mine about Thunderturds and that I had produced and directed better visits to the toilet. A few moments later a kid made the Thunderturds comment onthe film. Its as if the makers knew what a load of rubbish they were making and were trying to say it before anyone else did. Except they didn't in my case. I got there first. And this was only about 5 minutes into the film.
Again I think it would have been better if director Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker, Star Trek the Next Generation) had made a dark gritty disaster thriller with a real threat and heroes you could believe in. There is no sense of danger, peril or excitement.
Advantages: Good Family Entertainment Disadvantages: Plot is Weak
...a fan of the old Thunderbirds and grew2 up loving them but now that I'm older I find the effects rather primitive. They were good for their time though and still is great entertainment although its a little apst it now. So when I heard Thunderbirds was hitting the big screen I was quite excited but none the less worried that this update would be dissapointing.
I had no need to worry on the special effects front , the main stars were updated without ... ...if you are not a Thunderbirds fan then you will not notice the difference. Unfortunatly though the story line in one word is plain and lacks imagination. Yes we do have the bad guy the Thunderbirds arch enemy the Hood but part of the fun of the Thunderbirds episodes was the fact that he was never caught but foiled at every attempt to get at the Thunderbirds. I won't spoil the plot but basically he goes right over the top in waht can only be called ...
jarjar65uk 29.03.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Thunderbirds (DVD)
Advantages: Good alround comedy action adventure Disadvantages: isn't really
...cant really give you much of a review. Just go and see the movie, if you rent or buy the movie you won;t be disappointed. Younger viewers will just enjoy it where as the the older generation who grw up with the thunderbirds will get a lot of the jokes. ...
sleepi80 23.05.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Thunderbirds (DVD)
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Advantages: Its funny- for all the wrong reasons Disadvantages: Dreadful acting, awful plot, painful to watch, everything is wrong
This is what happens when Americans get hold of something beloved and oh so quintessentially British. The Thunderbirds of the 1960's are without doubt one of the finest TV series that Britain has made and exported all over the globe. 50 minutes of disaster filled TV with puppets whose hands would magically transform into fully fleshed mitts able to operate all kinds of futuristic leavers. The audaciousness of the plots and settings were every little boys dream. Who didn't want to turn themeself into a wooden puppet, just so they could shoot Thunderbird 1 around the globe at 15,000mph? Ok, so im getting a bit nostalgic. But, when presented with such filth, you can't help but wonder what might have been.
So basically, Alan Tracey is at high school and is nodding off (much like the reviewer). Then out of nowhere, Lady Penelope comes ...
dan_the_turbanator 22.07.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Thunderbirds (DVD)
Advantages: Great graphics and decent acting Disadvantages: Where are the iconic blue suits
The Thunderbirds was a hit TV show in the 1960's and 1970's that through the use of puppets told the story of the Tracy family who with their weird and wonderful crafts fought to save the world.
In 2004 a film was released to tell a further Thunderbird tale. This time however real-life actors where used instead in an attempt to bring the whole idea more up-to-date and make it appeal to more people. Now for me this was the best idea but for die-hard Thunderbirds fans the puppets will always be the real Tracy brothers.
Now when watching the "Thunderbirds" film you have to be aware that it doesn't fit into the timeline of the old Thunderbirds TV episodes, as the film to begin with shows Jeff Tracy at the helm of a Thunderbird craft and then progresses to show Alan's initiation into International Rescue whereas in the TV programme ...
Advantages: feel good film, effects are better than the origianals! Disadvantages: predictable
It was never going to be amazing we all knew it. It was watchable and wasn't boring but was very predictable.
It was nice to see the vehicles actually flying and the people moving without the aid of strings.
The story follows the thunderbirds after they return to there secret island to find out their space station TB5 has been badly damaged the team thinks its just a meteor strike but unknown to them master criminal The Hood did it so that the thunderbirds left the island and he could take it over, using the power of his mind he makes brain work for him. however he hasn't realised that Alan, Tin Tin and Fermat are still on the island and there not about to give it up.
Brady Corbet plays Alan Tracy one of the three youngsters who go about saving Tracy island hes helped by Soren Fulton who plays Fermat a brilliant character ...
curiousG2 04.03.2007 (05.03.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Thunderbirds (DVD)
The Thunderbirds have only just returned home to their secret base when their space based station is attacked by a suspected meteor strike. This attack is only to get them off the island so that Aristotle Spode, an international master criminal, can take it over. What he doesn't realise is that Alan, Fermat and Tin Tin are still on the island.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK; UNIVERSAL MUSIC OPERATIONS
Release date
15/11/2004
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
822 774 8
Languages
Main Language
English
Hearing Impaired Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Creating The Action, Tracy Island Revealed, Lady P And Parker Fun And Stunts, FAB1 More Than Just A Car, Lady Penelopes Pink World, Game The Hood Vs Thunderbirds, Audio Commentary With Jonathan Frakes, Busted Thunderbirds Are Go Music Video
Aspect Ratio
1.85 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
You'll Love This (Funday Times, )
DVD Description
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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