Thunderbirds Movie set to Bomb
March 17th, 2004 at 9:12 am (Movie News)
I just got a look at a rough draft for the Thunderbirds international trailer at Dark Horizons: Trailers which includes a lot more footage from the movie and I think I need to recant my stated admiration for the look of the movie. Not only does this flick look like a poor attempt at copying the success of Spy Kids (2001) but a better view of the Thunderbirds vehicles in full set shows they look more like cheesy little models than fully developed effect shots. It seems I am not the only one having doubts about this one, according to Animated News crew who have seen a nearly finished movie expect it to bomb.
Duncan Marshall said,
April 25, 2004 at 10:12 pm
When will the thunderbird movie be released in Australian Cinemas
alan tracy said,
June 1, 2004 at 3:58 am
how can u say tht this film is not good. its true to the originalseries keeping most of the main vehicles the same. sure thunderbird 4 doesnt lok the same but tey hardly ever used tb4 int he series. and the first movie thunderbirds are go was a compelte flop cos they didntexactly know what they was doin. now tht film making techniques have improved this movie will be much better. and with the use of cgi the vehicles wil look more belivable and do more things than they did in the series which was more or less fly forward stay still turn a bit and land. thts all they did, nw hopefully they will do a lot more things in this film
Andy Bartlett said,
June 14, 2004 at 5:10 pm
Thunderbirds is essentially a British phenomenon, and while the special effects looked like the usual impressive stuff, the trailer looked like the usual formularised, americanised and glossy disapointment, that arrives when some studio takes a classic and tries to wring a few more dollars from it.
Paula said,
July 19, 2004 at 8:03 am
Do you have any website about the 70’s serie of The Thunderbirds?
Thank you,
Paula
prns@uol.com.br
Charles Siu said,
July 26, 2004 at 3:03 am
The script was a worse villain than the Hood.
By having a story which from the start breaches the security of International Rescue, which was sacrosanct in the 60’s series, any sequel to this rubbish will be compromised.
The original Thunderbirds team would have cried murder when the film crews tried to document the fire rig disaster.
Now that the world knows of the Thunderbirds’ secrets, there is no incentive for the Hood to sell those secrets to the world, which was a central plank in the original series.
By overemphasizing Alan Tracy as the main protagonist, the film leaves little room for characterisation of the other Thunderbirds characters.
I have every sympathy for Gerry Anderson, creator of the original series, who disputed with the makers of this flop.
charlie said,
July 29, 2004 at 7:11 am
i don’t care what any1 else thinks i loved it! whats the deal with it just bein liked by boys, i’ mean i’m a girl en most of my m8s hu r girls hu came wiv me 2 da cinimas loved it aswell so b4 every presumes that us girls won’t like it, ask us instead of tellin us! oh and 2 all those hu av seen it en sed that it was a waste of money thats your opinion so every1 hu wants to c it but are havin 2nd thouhts coz of those comments i say give it a chance!
Nick Turner said,
July 30, 2004 at 2:26 pm
What a crock of sh-sh-sh rubbish! I mean the so-called review, not the movie! Don’t let the nay-sayers put you off, this is a great movie. I am a fan of the original show, but I just loved this movie! You can’t turn the clock back 40 years fer gawdsake! They kept the original premise, jazzed it up for the (real) 21st century, aimed it squarely at kids (well, DUH!!) and have produced a winner. Far from looking fake, the CGI makes the vehicles far more real and takes you right into the action. Attention to detail is fantastic with computerized displays and gadgets and a security system for Tracy Island. Go see this movie immediately and take your kids with you for the next show. That why you’ll have no distractions the first time around!
James said,
August 6, 2004 at 12:52 pm
LOVED THE FILM!!!
I don’t see why the film was rated to be a flop.
They have stuck to the main principle of the original, but have given it a fresh look.
Yes the storyline was straight forward and a little predictable but it was obviously aimed at children (WAKE UP!) because so was the original version!!!!! If you were a parent you didnt want your child asking you, ‘oh what’s happened? what are they doing?’
The acting wasnt bad, loved to see the new faces especially the starring roles of Alan, Lady Penelope and Tin-Tin.
I enjoyed the new and improved versions of the crafts Thunderbird 1 and 3 looking much more sleek and aerodynamic, Thunderbird 2 still kept its charm, Thunderbird 4 (i would say) looks much better than the original and Thunderbird 5, what can I say they had made it come to life.
The Thunderiser, Mole and Firefly were changed although not to say that was bad (would have been nice to see the other pod vehicles).
Tracy Island, has been re-vamped plus we get to see more around the island.
The use of TB4 and the Pod Vehicles were clever (it would have been rather boring to just see the vehicles and TB4 in the TB2 silo doing nothing.
My regrets would have to be the change of the Rolls-Royce (FAB1) to a rather boring (but still cool) Ford.
Questions arise to me when watching: Brains has a son?? Fermat, The Hood has minions?, Did you see the hover bike had a ‘7′ on its fin- giving me ideas to it being Thunderbrid 7 but it would have been the Hover bed in the series, with the idea of TB7 in my head I wondered whether Thunderbird 6 appear into the movie.
Overall, a great film to watch with your family and friends.
Seeing it with my Friends (who were not big fans of the series) they enjoyed it a lot.
Cee Jay said,
August 7, 2004 at 1:07 am
Great vehicles, great set designs vs ghastly cast and ghastly storyline; that’s Thunderbirds the movie, a poor attemtpt to cash in on a classic series rather than pay homage to it. Thunderbirds was never a show aimed at talking down to kids, it was essentially dramtic, the chracters where mature adults and the youngest of the Tracy brothers was no way near a kid. This film tries to woo the younger generation by making brats the centre of the entire film, how the hell did they NOT intend it to flop when the core of the Thunderbirds fans are old enough the have families and grandchildren of their own who have all seen the original. This was bound to flop once they messed with the original content above what was needed and formulaised the film into the usual kids succeeding where adults fail and everyone knows kung-fu crap. The filmmakers have alienated the majority of their audience by dumbing down the movie, it’s nausiating to see such great design and promise go down the toilet simply because the makers think kids actually enjoy silly movies rather than sensible ones. Disney have lost the plot entirely and Jonothan Frakes has directed yet another pile of steaming crud, how does that man keep getting work? Sure you can watch it for a laugh but be warned, the kids are nausiating, the Tracy Brothers are practically non-existant and the villians are truly ridiculous, the only things to come outof the film smelling of roses is the opening titles and the vehicles.
Andrew Edwards said,
August 12, 2004 at 12:34 am
Hey guys,
Would someone be able to sent me the script of thunderbirds the movie if someone out there has the script all knows where to get it,,, my e-mail is edgeyedwards992@hotmail.com
thanks
Stilman said,
August 24, 2004 at 4:25 am
Of course I am an avid TB fan…but this film was made for vegetated patients in psychiatric wards: In fact this dumb film should carry a health warning that reads: ‘TB’s the movie by J. Frakes will kill incumbent coma patients worldwide’…
After decades of eager anticipation, with producers titilating its audience, speculating dreary rumours off & on the production for years, Working Title, successfully produce a Master Piece of S**T of a film!
40 years ago, Gerry Anderson treated kids like adults, and we understood Thunderbirds and its themes completely.
Meanwhile, J’than ‘red alert’ Frakes is aptly incompetent and mentally lazy. This movie director completely destroys Gerry Anderson’s well thought out creation of TB, then ridicules Gerry Anderson, ridicules millions of TB fans worldwide, then insults the fertile minds of today’s youngsters by creating nothing more than a stupid joke of the original series!
Infact, every frame, every scene of this movie, begining from the senseless opening credits drawn on cartoon wash to the last minute of the film is not Thunderbirds at all!…but in fact a fantastic and insulting SPOOF send up of international rescue, akin to David Niven’s Casino Royal against Sean Connery’s depiction of James Bond 007!
However, there was one great outcome that happened for this movie…IT BOMBED AT THE BOX OFFICE’…Good!
My rating : -55/10:
Nick Turner said,
August 25, 2004 at 8:29 pm
Team America are GO! I just checked out the trailer - you’re gonna wish TB was done with puppets! I reckon this film will be HUGE. (That’s “Team America - World Police” from Paramount and the creators of South Park!)
soph said,
February 13, 2005 at 7:32 pm
hey there
i thought the movie was great new faces made it great.
some people i know who used to watch the old serise thought the movie was great.
my rating 10/10
Yuna Tracy said,
September 4, 2006 at 1:54 am
I can’t belive how small a part the brothers had in the movie! I thought Gordon and Scott are like a year apart. And how can Brians have a son Alans age when he’s 25? Did Frakes even bother to check all those things that would totally annoy Thunderbird fans?
Ralph said,
March 21, 2008 at 2:48 am
I thought the new movie Thunderbirds was a dissapointment, they had the technology (and budget) to do the original show proud. Instead they ruined it
by a lame story. Don’t get me wrong some things looked terrific ie: Tracy Island looked great, although the CGI craft looked very fake (they didn’t look real) compared to the original models. Not enough rescues and action and the story line of the Hood and his cronies, finding the location of Tracy Island was so far removed from the original story premise it destroyed what credability the new movie had (if any). This movie could have made millions at the Box Office and in DVD sales. If they had done it right the “Baby Boomers” would have ensured it would have been very successfull.
At least we still have the original series to remind us how good it was !