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Thunderbirds

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Thunderbirds (2004)

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19 %
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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:23-07-2004

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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Reviews for Thunderbirds

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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The Thunderbirds vehicles are impressively realised (even the tarted up, purist-bothering motor of Lady P looks grand), but this live action adaptation of Gerry Anderson's iconic creations lacks any soul.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
07/20/04
Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Fans of the original will likely be upset, but the kids will probably love it.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
01/06/04
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite some incidental pleasures, thin writing, shabby direction and heavy-handed performances make this neither one for the purists nor thrill-seeking kids.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
07/23/04
Ian Freer
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Largely a case of what could have been, rather than what was.

Full Review Source: FilmFocus | comment Comment
07/25/04
Joe Utichi
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus

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

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The puppets still leave more of a lasting impression.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
07/22/04
Wendy Ide
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It’s badly acted, poorly written and completely lacking in wit, tension, or excitement.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
07/24/04
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

The movie acts as a step-by-step guide on how to make for a life- force-draining experience.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
07/30/04
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

A charmless, leaden tale that never gets off the ground, even when its characters soar through the air.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
07/29/04
Randy Cordova
Randy Cordova
Arizona Republic

Thunderbirds is another movie that feeds the notion that Hollywood knows how to take the oddest and oldest of material and make it look spectacular -- even if the final product is as empty as a dummy's head.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
07/29/04
Bob Townsend
Bob Townsend
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Silly, yes, and with a creaky script to boot.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
08/01/04
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

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

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Herald | comment Comment
07/30/04
Paul Sherman
Paul Sherman
Boston Herald
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
08/07/04
Boston Phoenix

Lays an egg...could be last movie ever based on a British TV series.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
08/06/04
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

Aiming to please both adult fans of the original series and children weaned on more contemporary gadget-fare like the Spy Kids and the Cody Banks movies, they've created a kind of Frankenstein monster that ends up pleasing neither.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
07/30/04
Wade Major
Wade Major
Boxoffice Magazine

There's enough special effects razzle-dazzle to distract the average ten-year-old, but the script by William Osborne and Michael McCullers is stilted and humorless -- a little camp might have helped.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
05/18/08
Joshua Katzman
Joshua Katzman
Chicago Reader

This is a movie made for an audience that does not exist, at least in the land of North American multiplexes.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
07/30/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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Latest News for Thunderbirds

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We chat to the supremely lovely British actress about her latest role in David Mackenzie's new film. More...

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