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Thunderbirds

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Thunderbirds (2004)

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Reviews Counted:99

Fresh:19

Rotten:80

Average Rating:4.1/10

Consensus: Live-action cartoon for kids.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for intense action sequences and language

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:Jul 30, 2004 Wide

Box Office: $6,768,055

Synopsis: Based on the cult British television show from the 1960s, THUNDERBIRDS explodes into the 21st Century with this thrilling live-action version of the franchise. Drawing on similar themes and... Based on the cult British television show from the 1960s, THUNDERBIRDS explodes into the 21st Century with this thrilling live-action version of the franchise. Drawing on similar themes and familiar characters, director Jonathan Frakes (STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT) sticks closely to the spirit of the original show while making use of the new technology available to him 40 years after the program first aired to give the film a modern look. The International Rescue organization--a team of highly organized law enforcers--is the focal point for the movie. International Rescue is based on a remote desert island location, and is called into action whenever the world's sinister masterminds threaten to disturb the balance of society. Jeff Tracy (Bill Paxton) heads up the team, and employs his sons to help him out. Teenager Alan Tracy (Brady Corbet) is a little too young to join, and is constantly frustrated by his lack of opportunity to join the brothers on their missions. But when the evil villain known as The Hood (Ben Kingsley) traps the International Rescue team in outer space, it seems Alan's time has come. The Hood steals one of the many spacecrafts designed by International Rescue, and executes an outlandish scheme to rob the Bank of England. Alan and his pal Fermat (Soren Fulton) attempt the double-whammy of rescuing the trapped family and stopping The Hood, by drawing on help from the sultry detective Lady Penelope (Sophia Myles), her butler Parker (Ron Cook), and a few gadgets and vehicles courtesy of International Rescue. With comic references to the original show scattered liberally throughout the movie, and a sense of fun and adventure, this is a film that should appeal to both old and new fans of these popular crime-fighting characters. [More]

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Bill Paxton, Anthony Edwards, Sophia Myles

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Bill Paxton, Anthony Edwards, Sophia Myles, Brady Corbet, Soren Fulton

Director: Jonathan Frakes

Director: Jonathan Frakes
Screenwriter: William Osborne, Michael McCullers
Producer: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Mark Huffman
Composer: Hans Zimmer
Studio: Universal Pictures

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Release:

Dec 21, 2004

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Reviews for Thunderbirds

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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What impenetrable, overwrought codswallop this one’s turned out to be.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

Director Jonathan Frakes throws lots of bright colors and weird gadgets at the audience, but none of this hides the lack of imagination at the movie's center.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
08/08/04
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

It's strictly for kids.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
07/30/04
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The people who made Thunderbirds took a unique property and made it utterly commonplace.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
07/30/04
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

What's the point of this live-action version of a puppet show? As in 'Pinocchio,' the magic disappears when the marionettes become flesh and blood.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
08/05/04
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

A pretty entertaining, extremely good-looking cinematic blip.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment 2 Comments
07/29/04
Allison Benedikt
Allison Benedikt
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A piece of whiz-bang children's entertainment that could appeal to the family market far and wide.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
07/20/04
Ray Bennett
Ray Bennett
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is another example of the idiocy that often results when Hollywood attempts to convert an animated TV show into a non-animated movie.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment 1 Comment
07/27/04
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This foolishly conceived movie version of the 1960s sci-fi TV show is not only achingly dull, it has no respect for its origins.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
07/30/04
Jami Bernard
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A new and rather breathtakingly misconceived attempt to revisit a vintage TV show that did not under any circumstances need to be revisited.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Aside from possibly launching a Ben Kingsley line of cosmetics, Thunderbirds seems destined to leave no lasting mark.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
07/30/04
Jay Boyar
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel

Ultra-campy marionettes come to blah life in director Jonathan Frakes' souped-up but poorly written adaptation of the cult English sci-fi kids' show.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
09/01/06
Betsy Bozdech
Betsy Bozdech
Hollywood.com

Contains the depth of a petri dish that's already filled to the rim.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
08/13/04
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

Thunderbirds revolves around a boring family of heroic do-gooders.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
07/30/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Not only did the 7-year-old boy inside me have a high old time, so did the 7-year-old daughter sitting next to me.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
07/30/04
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The premise of the TV series has been abandoned just as effectively as the Tracy boys have been marooned in space for nearly the entire story

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
08/10/04
Shane Burridge
Shane Burridge
rec.arts.movies.reviews

The filmmakers, clearly never having seen the original TV series, sideline the spacecraft and reduce this debacle to what essentially amounts to boys 'n' The Hood.

Full Review Source: Movie Boeuf | comment Comment
08/18/04
David N. Butterworth
David N. Butterworth
Movie Boeuf

The plot abounds with holes, and the dialogue is often delivered in a bland, perfunctory manner.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
11/02/06
Peter T. Chattaway
Peter T. Chattaway
Christianity Today

Thunderbirds isn't a particularly good movie. But...this film actually says something - however heavy-handedly - about responsibility and teamwork.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
07/30/04
Sarah Chauncey
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com

Filmed in a zany, colourful style reminiscent of the Spy Kids movies, this is enjoyable fun until earnest lines of dialog bring everything to a shrieking stop.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
05/27/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
 
 
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