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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

Coming to the rescue

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

---

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 Hood's two main assistants are named with architectural terms for vertical (Mullion) and horizontal (Transom) pieces used in the construction of doors or windows.

---

Goofs

When Lady Penelope is in TB1 she is wearing a pink jumpsuit, long hair and a pink hands-free device. The next scene in the bank she has changed her clothes and her hair is in a bun

---

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!

---

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.

---

Connections

Follows Thunderbird 6 (1968)

---

Soundtracks

Thunderbirds are Go!
(Original TV Series Theme)
(Barry Gray)
Arrangement by Ramin Djawadi & Hans Zimmer
Courtesy of Universal Pictures Music

User Reviews

Grave disappointment, insults a fondly-remembered source

I had high hopes for this movie, but it seems the makers did not. They could have had faith in the source material. They could have hoped that preserving the wonderful legacy of the original TV show (albeit with modest adjustments for a contemporary audience) would have been worthwhile, and delivered a hugely enjoyable action adventure movie. Instead, they either did not understand the value of the source material they were handling, or did not appreciate it. Whichever was the case, they jettisoned it, threw away most of anything that would have made this a creditable movie, and re-made 'Spy Kids'.

If trying to be fair (and perhaps fairer than the makers deserve), there are two potential audiences for this movie - those who have fond memories of the original TV show, and those who don't. The latter group may find it passably enjoyable. They may wonder why anyone wanted to make a 'Spy Kids' clone. They may wonder why the producers think an action adventure movie for kids has to be ABOUT kids having adventures, when the rest of Hollywood has moved on and realized this need not be the case. They may wonder why they are sitting through a strictly formulaic movie-by-numbers flick with dial-it-in performances, promoted as if it's meant to be a big summer hit. But they might find it averagely OK.

But the first group - those who not only remember the Gerry Anderson TV show but remember it fondly - will feel sick that such wonderful potential has been wasted. Gerry and Sylvia Anderson created a marvelous action adventure fantasy world, with a great premise and endless potential. The show had warmth, humour, fun, thrills and spills and a unique tone which endeared it to millions and made it Anderson's biggest ever hit show. The producers of this lame movie have not only paid no heed to the spirit of the original (even telling Anderson that his services were not required), but actively trampled all over it. A modest tinkering with the material to bring it up to date would have been fine, welcome and appropriate. Instead they have comprehensively missed the point of the original TV show, messed around with the characters, invented characters that never existed and put them centre stage (Brains has a son?) and otherwise treated their source material with utter contempt.

It is a great movie? No. It's isn't even a good one. The first duty of any film-maker is to find a good story worth telling, and to tell it well. They haven't. The story is dull, flat, predictable and lamely paraded before us. At the same time, they have treated the Thunderbirds concept with disdain and contempt, and soured what could have been a great new franchise.