Thunderbirds is the Hollywood remake of the beloved classic
1960s TV show from creator Gerry Anderson. The original series dealt with a
heroic family who launched special rescue operations all over the world using
their advanced rocket ships and vehicles from their secretive island base. The
series used puppets in lieu of live actors, and it also used the legendary Derek
Meddings' talents with miniatures to great effect. The result was a fun,
imaginative show that still can be enjoyed today. And, of course, Hollywood has
to make the obligatory remake and screw it all up.
The remake--which has live actors, only this time they act like wooden puppets--takes
place in the present day, with an entire world gushing over the latest antics of
the Thunderbirds, who are busy rescuing oil well workers from an offshore rig
that has caught fire. Yet the whole oilrig disaster turns out to be a set up by
The Hood (Ben Kingsley…yep, THAT Ben Kingsley; I guess even Gandhi needs to pay
the bills), a nefarious villain with mental powers who seeks to destroy the
Thunderbirds. It turns out that The Hood used to run an illegal diamond mine
that collapsed, trapping him and his workers. The Thunderbirds rescued all of
the workers, but they weren't able to get to The Hood, who was left behind, and
when he finally dug himself out of the rubble, well…let's just say that The Hood
had some pretty serious issues with the Thunderbirds team. Despite the fact that
he is obviously slumming here, Kingsley is actually pretty good in his villainous
role; he brings some much needed weight to a film that is so filled with fluff
that it threatens to float away under its own bubble-headed buoyancy.
In any event, The Hood sets up the oilrig fire so that he could have a henchman
place some kind of magic gloop on one of the Thunderbirds ships that enable him
to trace it back to Tracey Island. Armed with the location of this secret hideout,
The Hood sets up another emergency--firing a missile at and crippling Thunderbird
5, the team's surveillance satellite in orbit--in order to get the air headed
Tracey boys off the base so he can steal their home right out from underneath
them. Once in command of Tracy Island, The Hood traps the thunder headed nitwits
up on Thunderbird 5, which is losing orbit, and plans to use the other neat
Tracey toys to rob the great banks of the world. You go, Hood! Ah, but there's
a problem that The Hood did not foresee: Alan, Tintin, and Fermat,
the young children of members of the Thunderbirds team, are running around loose
on the island, and in the best tradition of Home Alone (aaaarrrrggghhhh!), these
cute little tykes give the bad guys a run for their money.
First off, the major problem with Thunderbirds is that it doesn't really DEAL
with the Thunderbirds. The famous international rescue team, led here by an
overly stoic Bill Paxton, are treated like secondary characters in their own
movie. And Paxton's on-screen sons, the team of Tracey brothers who are the
pilots of the Thunderbirds ships, are all so bland and interchangeable that it's
hard to tell who's who without a scorecard. The real stars of the original TV
show were the fantastic ships, and even they don't get as much screen time as
they should in this flick. Instead we are treated to a Spy Kids rip-off where a
trio of munchkins turn the tables on the bad guys and learn some sappy life
lessons along the way. The Spy Kids movies are great fun to watch because
Director Robert Rodriguez is a story-telling genius that doesn't talk down to
his audience. And while Thunderbirds' director Jonathon Frakes (yep, THAT very
same Frakes…I guess Commander Riker needed a new gig since Star Trek: The Next
Generation went off the air) is a good craftsman, this film ultimately comes off
as just another one of those lame, forgettable made for cable flicks you'd watch
only if there was nothing else on. I would have given this film only one star,
had it not been for two things: the fabulous production design and special
effects, and Sophia Myles, who really shines as Lady Penelope, and makes this
turkey worth watching.
The DVD special features include a commentary by director Frakes, and the
assorted "making of" documentaries, as well as a music video, DVD-ROM content,
and trailers. The film is available in widescreen and fullscreen; I reviewed the
widescreen edition. While small children may enjoy this film, die-hard fans of the
TV series should just stick to the original, which still soars in the imagination
after 40 years. --SF
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