THUNDERBIRDS (2004)
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2004 David N. Butterworth
*1/2 (out of ****)
Let me get one thing straight from the outset. The original "Thunderbirds"
TV series (1962-1964) created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson employed marionettes
not, as you might have heard, puppets. Puppets are something you stick your
hand way up inside, like Elmo. Marionettes are jointed, often lifelike dolls
manipulated from above by strings or wires attached to its limbs. Another thing
you should know is that I grew up on the show--it was both suspenseful and funny,
full of action with terrific plots and set pieces and incredible spacecraft
owned and operated by a clandestine organization headquartered on an island
in the South Pacific known as International Rescue, the brainchild of one Jeff
Tracy. Someone, somewhere, thought it would make for a decent kiddie flick.
This big screen version, which stars Bill Paxton as Mr. Tracy, Anthony Edwards
as his stuttering engineer Brains, and Ben Kingsley as the villain, plus a handful
of unknown tykes, could well be subtitled "The Alan Tracy Story," since all
it seems to be about is the not-yet-ready-for-IR-prime-timer (vacantly played
by "Thirteen"'s Brady Corbet) careering around on terra firma in an attempt
to earn the respect and admiration of the team stranded on a space station by
Kingsley's The Hood. The only true flashes of recognition come when the Thunderbirds
(the sophisticated rescue vessels themselves not, as this film would have you
believe, the name of our trusted superheroes) head out on their missions, and
those sequences are few and far between. Sophia Myles and Ron Cook as Lady
Penelope and her trusted chauffeur Parker bring some levity to the proceedings
but otherwise this is so completely not "F.A.B."
--
David N. Butterworth
dnb@dca.net
Got beef? Visit "La Movie Boeuf"
online at http://members.dca.net/dnb
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