Thunderbirds *** (2004, Bill Paxton, Sophia Myles, Ron Cook, Ben Kingsley, Anthony Edwards, Brady Corbet, Vanessa Hudgens) – Classic Movie Review 3791

Yes, Thunderbirds are go again in director Jonathan Frakes’s smart-looking 2004 live-action comedy adventure Thunderbirds, based on Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s classic Sixties TV puppet stories of International Rescue.

Sadly, all the strings, amateurish production and childhood innocence have gone, replaced by a lot of campy silliness and a good-looking London-based production.

Bill Paxton is ideal as the hero Jeff Tracy, Sophia Myles has the right snooty touch as Lady Penelope and Ron Cook is perfect as her butler Parker. But Ben Kingsley as the lip-smacking baddie The Hood and Anthony Edwards (in a very dodgy turn as Brains) are a pain. And the interesting adults are sidelined for too long in favour of the modestly winsome kids Brady Corbet as Alan Tracy, Vanessa Hudgens as Tintin and Soren Fulton as Fermat.

With it ending up like an old-style Disney movie crossed with Agent Cody Banks, old-time Thunderbirds fans might think this is slack but today’s kids will probably thinks it’s F-A-B and cheer.

It cost a lot – $57,000,000 – and took little – $6,768,000 in the US.

Brady Corbet went on to direct The Childhood of a Leader (2015) and Vox Lux (2018).

RIP Bill Paxton, who died on 25 February, 2017, aged 61.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3791

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