[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "Thunderbirds" please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.

All HTF member film reviews of "Thunderbirds" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.


Crawdaddy

[Michael Harris]

I think this comment by Desson Thomson in today's Washington Post says it all:

Quote:

This movie is horrible to sit through, let alone talk about.

[Neil Joseph]

I used to really enjoy Thunderbirds as a kid but that was 26 years ago as far as I remember. I will probably rent this when it finally comes on dvd and miss it theatrically.

[Stan]

It's to bad they converted this to a live action film.

The entire enjoyment of the old Thunderbirds shows was the fact that they were done using a technique known as supermarionation. Sure you could see the strings, the shows were cheesy, had hilarious sets and special effects, but that was the charm of the shows.

This version is going to fade away very quickly. I'm not even going to rent the DVD, I'll simply wait until it shows up on cable.

[Ocean Phoenix]

I just wanted Jonathan Frakes to do well with all of his directorial projects because he directed "Star Trek: First Contact", which is not only my favourite Star Trek movie, but one of my favourite movies overall. It's a shame that he hasn't been successful directing movies that aren't spun off from Star Trek. This is the second kids movie he's done now, and apparently the last one (Clockstoppers) wasn't very impressive either.

[Chris]

Quote:

Clockstoppers

This film is a lot of fun, and my kids love this flic. So, I wouldn't dismiss it as "terrible"

[Mario Bartel]

Ditching the marionettes for real actors didn't bother me as much as the ham-handed attempt to turn Thunderbirds into a kids' action movie. Heck, their primary audience for this has got be those of us in our 30s and early 40s who were enthralled by the Thunderbirds' rescue craft and all the whiz-bang futuristic technology that I spent endless hours trying to recreate with Lego blocks so I could enact my own International Rescue storylines. The models in the original tv series were exquisite, and I was kinda looking forward to seeing how these would be rendered with modern CGI. But they were barely in the movie, just some crappy rescues at the beginning and end to bookend the lame plot, the former of which was so dark it was as if they were trying to save a few bucks by being able to skimp on the details.

I did kinda enjoy Miss Penelope and Parker, though. Funny, when I was a kid, I always thought they were the weakest part of the show

[todd s]

I am shocked how poor this movie did...2.7 million. That's really bad. I agree with Mario. When they made it a Spy Kids movie. It really ruined it for me and apparently everyone else.

[Ken Horowitz]

Quote:

I did kinda enjoy Miss Penelope and Parker, though. Funny, when I was a kid, I always thought they were the weakest part of the show

Yes, Penelope and Parker were the best performances in the movie. If the rest of cast had that tone, and the story had not focused on "the next generation", the film could have been quite fun.

Did anyone else notice the very funny closeup of marionette strings?

[derek]

Poor Jonathan Frakes. I've always liked the guy as a Star Trek fan and appreciated his input into the series/movies. I really applaud his efforts into putting his directorial energy into two family friendly releases Clockstoppers and Thunderbirds. Just rented Thunderbirds DVD (barely remember the show) and enjoyed it with my kids. Nothing awe inspiring but we liked it enough to go purchase the DVD. I watched a few of the featurettes and you can see the passion and fun Frakes has for his movie and crew. The film was a HUGE box office bomb (imdb $57million production costs made $6million US.) Clockstoppers was a mild success so they doubled his budget. I think the marketing was just way off for Thunderbirds...should have just hit the kiddie crowd. They tried to get the tweens and old adult fans of the original and missed completely. Will anyone support Frakes behind the camera again anytime soon???