Thunderbirds (2004)

When The Hood finds and invades International Rescue's secret base and traps most of the Tracy family, only young Alan Tracy and his friends can save the day.

Director:

Jonathan Frakes

Writers:

Gerry Anderson (television series), Sylvia Anderson (television series)

Stars:

Bill Paxton, Anthony Edwards, Ben Kingsley

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brady Corbet	...	Alan Tracy
Debora Weston	...	Teacher
Soren Fulton	...	Fermat
Lou Hirsch	...	Headmaster
Alex Barringer	...	Excited Kid
Demetri Goritsas	...	News Anchor
Genie Francis	...	Lisa Lowe
Philip Winchester	...	Scott Tracy
Deobia Oparei	...	Mullion
Bill Paxton	...	Jeff Tracy
Kyle Herbert	...	Know It All Kid
Dominic Colenso	...	Virgil Tracy
Ben Torgersen	...	Gordon Tracy
Sophia Myles	...	Lady Penelope
Ron Cook	...	Parker

Storyline

The year is 2010. Teenager Alan Tracy, sent off to a distant boarding school, is the youngest of the sons of Jeff Tracy, a retired American astronaut. Jeff, a widower, has formed International Rescue, and raised his sons to act as a secret, volunteer organization which uses highly advanced technology to save lives worldwide. Jeff and his older sons John, Virgil, Scott, and Gordon, who like Alan were named after the Mercury Seven astronauts are joined in this effort by Lady Penelope and her butler/chauffeur Parker. Their futuristic hardware is largely developed by a genius scientist known as Brains, who lives at the International Rescue base on Tracy Island, somewhere in the Pacific.

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Plot Keywords:

island | rescue | oil rig | hostage | bank vault | 

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Taglines:

Prepare for the new generation.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for intense action sequences and language

Details

Official Sites:

Universal Universal [UK]

Country:

UK France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 July 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Thunderbirds

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$57,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,350,974 (United Kingdom), 25 July 2004, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,766,810, 1 August 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$6,768,055, 22 August 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

Working Title Films, StudioCanal, Tracy Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital EX DTS-ES

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie takes place in 2010.

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Goofs

Thunderbird 2 flies from the Pacific and across the Atlantic to England, and Lady Penelope watches a display that shows it approaching London, correctly, from the west. However we see Thunderbird 2 approach and fly under Tower Bridge from the east.

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Quotes

[first lines]
News Anchor: From a secret island in the South Pacific, the courageous Tracy family run an organization called International Rescue. When disaster strikes anywhere in the world, they are always first on the scene. They go by the name they gave they're incredible machines. The Thunderbirds. 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - Thunderbirds are GO!

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are animated (cartoon style) with the 4 Thunderbird Rescue Craft "saving"/manipulating the text which is in danger of being destroyed by disasters (Volcano Lava, Meteors, etc.). For those who have never seen the original TV Shows, it offers a peek at the design of the Craft and how they function at the disaster sites. A jazzed-up/updated version of the TV Theme Music is used for this sequence.

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Connections

Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #32.1 (2004)

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Soundtracks

Thunderbirds Are Go
Written by Barry Gray, James Bourne, Charlie Simpson, Matt Willis,
Tom Fletcher
Performed by Busted
Courtesy of Universal/Island Records Ltd.

User Reviews

'Thunder' with a blunder.

My Take: A mindless, aimless "blockbuster" with performances more wooden than the marionettes that inspired it.

No colorful special effect or child-friendly approach can hide a bland story and an otherwise forgettable movie, and there's proof: It's called THUNDERBIRDS. Despite its plush toy-like special effects and exuberant environments, THUNDERBIRDS is completely barren. Empty in the case that doesn't involve special effects, playful sets and wacky costumes. In its heart, THUNDERBIRDS doesn't differ much from the recent SPY KIDS films--- except maybe that those films are actually a lot better at churning our old childhood memories. THUNDERBIRDS comes close to showing how pathetic childhood was (or wasn't).

Fresh from the success of his Next Generation STAR TREK films (two of which he directed), Jonathan Frakes is back resting comfortably on his director's chair and at his first shot he really had good intentions... until he started making the thing in the first place. THUNDERBIRDS is supposed to be a silly throwback to the cheesy old TV series, aimed at the young easy-going kids. But without a story at all to give it all much sense, THUNDERBIRDS is basically eye-candy that's completely harmless, mostly just tedious. The plot concerns the "world's greatest heroes", the Thunderbirds led by Jeff Tracy (Bill Paxton), being taken over by an evil mass villain called The Hood (Ben Kingsley), who gains control of their airships so he can... rob all banks in England(!). So it's up to the youngest would-be Thunderbird Alan (Brady Corbet) and his friends to play heroes, stop the evil baddie and save the day (or just another bank in England to be precise). The visuals, while not revolutionary in state, make for good eye-candy and the kids will cheer at even the cheesiest of moments (what's cheesy to us looks great to them).

But the film is just to thin, and it all falls apart with its completely wasted ambition. Weak performances don't really help much, and you thought the original marionettes were wooden! While the film is completely harmless, THUNDERBIRDS hasn't got a moment worth the price of admission at a movie theater. Kids may want to catch this on the rentals, though.

Rating: *1/2 out of 5.