Olivia Sutton's Fanfic Journal

CORECTED 2/17/2009 - Opps, must have been half asleep when I posted this originally.  I've corrected a couple of glaring errors.  Please re-read, thanks! --Olivia

Thunderbirds, Directed by Jonathan Frakes

Film/ DVD Review
by Olivia Sutton

Cast:

I first saw the Thunderbirds film when it came out in 2004 at the movie theater.  And I must say, I enjoyed it.  Yes, I could quibble about a few thing (the focus on Alan - who's far too young, referring to the IR organization as "Thunderbirds" rather than "International Rescue" etc).  But, the movie was a fun ride - the effects were great, the Thunderbirds themselves looked great and very much like the original models from the TV series, many of the model shots were remarkably similar to the original show.  In fact, there was one banking shot of Thunderbird Two that not only duplicated one of the stock model shots of the show, but it had an intentional black streak exactly where the film was scratched in the original model shot.  It was fun.  It was also fun seeing lesser Thunderbird machines such as the Firefly, the Mole, and what in the film is called "The Thunderizer" but which in the series didn't have a name it was just a giant transmitter used in "Sunprobe".

Where the movie disappointed fans to be sure is that it is, make no mistake, a kids movie -- the focus is on Alan, young Tin Tin, and "Fermat" the son of  Jeff's engineer, Brains, and a genius in his own right.  Also, there isn't as much of a focus on impossible rescues as one might like.

But having just watched the movie on DVD again -- it's still an enjoyable ride.  The action sequences are great.  I was surprised to realise that Sophia Myles was the young lady cast to play Lady Penelope (also a bit younger in the film than in the series).  About halfway through the movie, when she had her hair up, I realised who she was -- she played Madame de Pompadour in the Doctor Who 2nd series (season) episode "The Girl in the Fireplace".

Everyone in the Thunderbirds film is younger than in the classic television series - but in many ways, the film is an origin story film.  Hints are even dropped as to what happened to Jeff's wife (and the mother of the five boys), that Alan was young enough when his mother died that he doesn't remember her, and why the Hood has a vendetta against Jeff Tracy.  Not to mention it's hinted that the death of  his wife inspired Jeff to create International Rescue in the first place - something viewers of the series suspected.

What would be great fun would be a sequel with an established International Rescue, with a focus on an impossible rescue or two, and with the Tracy boys treating each other civilly - yet with the joking boys/brothers thing that boys, and especially brothers do.  That is, in the TV series Scott not only was the capable field commander on rescues (a role played by Jeff himself in the movie), but he also took great care that his brothers never came to harm and was worried when they were hurt.  Not to mention Alan actually being a capable member of International Rescue in his own right.  After all, in the original series Alan was a professional race car driver as well as a professional astronaut prior to Jeff setting up International Rescue.  Also, on the series, Alan's the pilot of Thunderbird Three (the big red space-capable rocket) and he splits monitor duty with John aboard Thunderbird Five.  And, in a sequel, I would have liked to see more of Scott and Virgil - who we barely see in this film, and who's relationship as the closest brothers of the five brothers.  Also, the film barely showed Gordon (who in the series was particularly close to Alan because they were the two youngest), though Jeff  keeps giving him orders aboard the crippled Thunderbird Five.

Basic plot outline of the movie Thunderbirds, Directed by Jonathan Frakes:  Jeff Tracy, billionaire philanthropist has established the secretive International Rescue with his four oldest sons.  Whenever there's danger, a disaster, or just people in trouble -- man-made or natural -- IR responds by sending out the fantastic Thunderbird machines and their highly skilled pilots to help in any part of the world.  But, in the film, the youngest Tracy brother is still at school and left out of the family business.  Alan, an impetuous youth, desperately wants to be a Thunderbird like his brothers, but his father insists he needs to finish school first.

Meanwhile, the Hood, played by Ben Kingsley with tongue firmly in cheek, sets-up a disaster at an oil rig, and when the Thunderbirds respond, he plants a tracker on Thunderbird One.  He tracks the signal to Tracy Island, sends a rocket into Thunderbird Five, damaging it, and when Jeff, Scott, Virgil, & Gordon, go off to rescue John and fix the satellite, attempts to take over the Thunderbirds/International Rescue operation so he rob banks.  (No, really, his plan is to use the Thunderbird machines to rob the world's biggest banks.  The guy's ambition is a bit limited, don't you think?)  Alan, Fermet (Engineer Brains son and Alan's best friend), and Tin Tin (Jeff's man servant and his wife the cook's daughter), run around the Island trying to stop the Hood and rescue the rest of the entire Tracy family who are stranded on Thunderbird Five in a decaying orbit slowly running out of air.  Eventually, The Hood gets into Thunderbird Two and leaves, Alan manages to re-establish contact with Thunderbird Five and fix things there, Alan, then, with everyone else including Lady Penelope and Parker take Thunderbird One to stop the Hood as he implements his plan to rob the Bank of England.

Again, it's a fun ride -- great effects, lots of action, a plot you don't want to over think, and if you consider it, in and of itself, fairly good characterization.  Part of the problem was that the TV series Thunderbirds had a cast of  ten, just on Tracy Island, and an even dozen including Parker and Lady Penelope.  Add in the semi-regular villain of  the Hood, and the semi-regular reporter Ned Cook, and you had fourteen.  That's a lot of  people for a film.  Frakes shakes it up a bit, dropping some characters (Grandma Tracy, Ned Cook), giving others less screen time (Poor Gordon - where is he?  And Scott and Virgil, who should be doing a lot, simply aren't after the initial rescue - which is viewed through Alan's eyes as he watches a newscast about it), Frakes then adds characters (Fermat, and the Hood's minions Mullion and Transom).  But overall, not a bad film, not really.  And I would love a sequel, especially if it was a tad bit closer to the series - I've always thought a live-action Thunderbirds TV series (or series of movies) could be a great fun.

DVD Review:  Surprising amount of well-produced, if short, extras.  I enjoyed them.  Featurettes include:  The Ultimate Action Sequence -- flying three Thunderbirds over the Thames, through London and landing them in Jubilee Park; Secrets of Tracy Island -- location of the actual shots, sets, and beauty shots, constructing the sets, visual F/X to combine the composites explained; FAB1:  More than just a car; Lady Penelope's Pink World; Lady P. and Parker - fun with stunts; "Thunderbirds Are Go" music video performed by Busted; Feature Commentary with Directory Jonathan Frakes.  DVD is anamorphic wide-screen, unusual in a kids' movie, and looks gorgeous!