I liked Thunderbirds. Thunderbirds is an update of the original TV show, and uses live actors rather than marionettes and CG rather than models. The SPX were fantastic, certainly above what one would expect for a movie aimed at children. I thought it was a fun re-imagining of a series that I really enjoyed as a kid. And I’m glad that it didn’t try to just recreate the original series, but rather brought an original idea by being a prequel of how Alan Tracey became a member of the Thunderbirds team. Although this focus on the younger Alan and friends gives it a Spy Kids feel. While the adults are indisposed it is up to the children to save the day. This is not too bad, but does run the risk of the audience feeling that they’ve seen it all before.

The character of Fermat isn’t required. If Thunderbirds is to be Alan’s rite of passage, then he should be the focus. The addition of Fermat splits the attributes required to win the day too thinly between the three children – Alan the brawn, Fermat the brains, and Tintin the heart. Yet for Alan to be a Thunderbird member he must already have the brains. His intelligence is not in question; it is his ability to be a team player that is. He must make the step from being an egocentric teenager to taking on the adult responsibilities of considering others. The movie should be about his emotional growth.

The Hood’s threat is undercut by his overacting. While The Hood has a submarine full of goons, mostly we see him and his two main assistants, Transom and Mullion. So with only 3 villains rallied against the entire Thunderbird team and its extended family, for The Hood’s threat to seem credible he needed to be played straight. Yet every time The Hood used his mind powers he was shown as dizzy and with crossed eyes. While this was obviously aimed at the younger audience, there is already plenty of hilarity in the comedic double acts between Lady Penelope and Parker versus Transom and Mullion. With The Hood’s threat diminished, the movie’s tension is lessened.

Alan’s brothers should have been more supportive of him. The family should be waiting for him to take his place among their ranks. But instead it is only his father, Jeff Tracy, who shows the kind of support one would expect from a team. The most telling example is when trapped on Thunderbird 5 with the air running out, and Alan their only hope, one of the brothers exclaims, “But he’s just a kid.”

And it is absent father / son dynamic that is Thunderbirds’ biggest misstep. Rather than Fermat, Tintin and Alan being on the run from The Hood, it should be Alan and his father Jeff Tracy. This would then give their relationship the screen time it needs. The movie can progress along almost the same lines, requiring only the minutest of forensics. Alan and Jeff escape The Hood, but the other Thunderbird team members are slowly dying from lack of air on Thunderbird 5. Tintin is imprisoned with her family, and her secret psychic powers can be shown as they try to escape, but are ultimately recaptured. With time running out on Thunderbird 5, the remaining team members make patchwork repairs in the hope that Alan and Jeff will be able to save them. Alan and Jeff elude The Hood’s minions, and father and son come to grips with Alan’s discipline problems. But Jeff senses that their capture is imminent, and sets himself up as bait so that Alan can escape and finish the plan that they have put into motion. Everything now rests on Alan’s shoulders.

Then at the finale the reunited Thunderbird team needs to make an appearance. It is what the audience has been waiting for – to see the Thunderbird team, as they know it, in action. But the current finale is Alan alone against The Hood. This is completely inappropriate to the message of the film, and contrary to the Thunderbird’s creed of teamwork. It should be the Thunderbird team, with Alan as a member of that team, which faces and defeats The Hood.

Thunderbirds as is, is a fun watch, and I recommend it to younger viewers, anyone who is still young at heart, or not too rabid fans of the original. But it’s a film though that doesn’t follow the recent trend to make children’s films that adults too can enjoy. Yet everything was there for it to be so. It is certainly not wanting in budget or talent. That it is not of the caliber of The Incredibles is from a lack of coherence from the writers.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 2nd, 2006 at 11:41 am and is filed under Forensic Analysis, Science Fiction, T, winston. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.