A curiosity for fans only. Thunderbirds was an early 60's UK TV show (50 mins format). It was original because it used marionettes (mechanised puppets) and superb models of aircraft, spaceships, nuclear powerplants and the like, usually exploding at some point.
The first 10 minutes of this movie sets the tone - the slow and boring construction of a martian spaceship just before it takes off from earth (although it is amazing to think it predated the current space shuttle concept by twenty odd years). The rest of the movie plays like an overextended TV episode. The reduction of well-loved characters to caricatures is a disappointment. For instance, Jeff Tracy (the father and chief of the International Rescue organisation) is just plain cranky and unreasonable (and annoyingly keeps saying Thunderbirds Are Go even when no-one else is around). Scott and Virgil (the brothers who are the main pilots) are bossy and a walking doormat respectively. Gordon Tracy seems to be channeling Adam Sandler, and Alan (the hero of the piece) is so petulant he'd put your 12 year old sister to shame. Other characters have had personality enemas (particularly Lady Penelope).
But there are three really outstandingly bad parts. Alan has a dream sequence where Cliff Richard and the Shadows do a little music video'. Forget about the 60's being the decade of rebellion even by Sir Cliff's standards this song is terrible. Then there is the crash of the giant spaceship into the earth. The crash looks like a model hitting cardboard houses'. Even the TV episodes got the explosions right (by filming at high speed and then slowing down to make the bangs look real' and heavy'). Finally, the last scene is just bone cringingly embarrassing, even for kids. I suppose things have changed in the last forty years, but are we really suppose to believe that a 21year old astronaut is still treated by his family like he's 12? And if so, why was he given the central task to complete a dangerous rescue instead of one of his older brothers? (And why did he use a screwdriver to secure wires when twisting the ends together would have done?).
See the TV show instead.
The first 10 minutes of this movie sets the tone - the slow and boring construction of a martian spaceship just before it takes off from earth (although it is amazing to think it predated the current space shuttle concept by twenty odd years). The rest of the movie plays like an overextended TV episode. The reduction of well-loved characters to caricatures is a disappointment. For instance, Jeff Tracy (the father and chief of the International Rescue organisation) is just plain cranky and unreasonable (and annoyingly keeps saying Thunderbirds Are Go even when no-one else is around). Scott and Virgil (the brothers who are the main pilots) are bossy and a walking doormat respectively. Gordon Tracy seems to be channeling Adam Sandler, and Alan (the hero of the piece) is so petulant he'd put your 12 year old sister to shame. Other characters have had personality enemas (particularly Lady Penelope).
But there are three really outstandingly bad parts. Alan has a dream sequence where Cliff Richard and the Shadows do a little music video'. Forget about the 60's being the decade of rebellion even by Sir Cliff's standards this song is terrible. Then there is the crash of the giant spaceship into the earth. The crash looks like a model hitting cardboard houses'. Even the TV episodes got the explosions right (by filming at high speed and then slowing down to make the bangs look real' and heavy'). Finally, the last scene is just bone cringingly embarrassing, even for kids. I suppose things have changed in the last forty years, but are we really suppose to believe that a 21year old astronaut is still treated by his family like he's 12? And if so, why was he given the central task to complete a dangerous rescue instead of one of his older brothers? (And why did he use a screwdriver to secure wires when twisting the ends together would have done?).
See the TV show instead.