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SYNOPSIS:
Saving the world is a full-time job for ex-astronaut Jeff
Tracy, his four elder sons and their five incredible machines:
The Thunderbirds. Together they form International Rescue,
a top secret organisation the world relies upon.
But today, they are under threat: their arch enemy The Hood
has trapped them in space and taken over their hi-tech crafts
and technology for his own evil purposes. Unbeknown to The
Hood though, Alan the youngest Tracy boy is still on the their
secret island. But does he have what it takes to save his
family...and the world?
MOVIE
REVIEW
Everybody loves to thrash a bad movie especially
remakes of a cult television series or critically acclaimed
films from the past. Those who make it through the critics’
electronic fences are few and far. “Mission Impossible”
perhaps is among the handful.
The
2004 remake of “Thunderbirds” is one of those
which are badly panned and singed at the box-office.
Watching
it for the first time on DVD and hearing barrage of negative
comments prior to it, I got to conclude it isn’t that
bad after all. Sure, there are the usual cheesy dialogues
and unbelievable moments liked why did the whole family have
to be activated on a same ship to rescue a stranded sibling?
Don’t you think it’s unwise to put all the eggs
in one basket?
Perhaps
this is the main sore point of the plot, our main hero, Jeff
Tracy (Bill Paxton) the billionaire ex-astronaut behind the
sophisticated rescue unit is sidetracked in this movie version.
Leading the way is Tracy’s youngest son, Alan (Brady
Corbet) who finally got the chance to be part of a real-life
operation to rescue his trapped father and siblings after
desiring to be part of the Thunderbirds for so long.
A
very apparent objective by the studio to use young stars such
as Corbet and Vanessa Hudgens (who shot to fame in “High
School Musical”) as the leads is to hopefully capture
a brand new generation of Thunderbirds’ fans but alas
the plan seem to backfired and it neither succeeded in reviving
the grand old dame nor please the base of old fans.
And
to add insult to injury, the one dimensional villain played
by Sir Ben Kingsley is neither cartoony bad nor is he deliciously
menacing.
But
this Jonathon Frakes’ directed flick does have its moments.
The original Brit series were done using strings-controlled
puppets (think “Team America”) and employed lots
of miniature effects – It was a wondrous and imaginative
series for kids growing up in the sixties and seventies. Though
digital effects have replaced the miniatures and real actors
are being cast, the fascinating designs of the pinkish F.A.B.1
and various ships retained much of the original flavour here.
Despite
the various flaws, “Thunderbirds” still fared
competently as a family-friendly sci-fi action flick. If you
enjoyed Disney’s “Sky High”, I don’t
see why you won’t be entertained by “Thunderbirds”.
“Thunderbirds” is still a go!
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The DVD comes with a nifty menu which I find a bit
hard for my non-nimble fingers to toggle. But anyway it comes
with a few interesting features including Creating
the Ultimate Action Sequence which touches on how
the crew at Framestone came up with the digital sequences.
Learn
how an actual island at the Indian Ocean with the combination
of digital effects is done to replicate Tracy Island in Secrets
of Tracy Island Revealed.
Watch
how Sophia Myles and Ron Cook who played Lady Penelope and
Parker respectively have fun doing the stunts in Lady
Penelope and Parker Lose Their Cool: Fun & Stunts
F.A.B.1: More Than Just A Car – Lady
Penelope’s beloved car is given a face-lift by the engineers
and it’s latest design is inspired by Ford cars rather
than Rolls-Royce in the original series.
Lady
Penelope's Pink World is another short feature which
introduces audience to how Lady Penelope’s pink world
is created.
The
DVD is rounded by a Busted Thunderbirds Music Video
and also a Fun Director's Commentary.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Presented in widescreen 1.85, the visual transfer is excellent
and the rich colours are a joy to marvel. The dolby digital
soundtrack is a tad weak at some points but nevertheless not
to the extend of marring your audio enjoyment.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
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