Hollywood will not rest until every TV show from the '60s has been made into a film. Live-action fare like The Fugitive and Lost in Space were given the silver-screen treatment years ago, then animated shows like Scooby-Doo got their turn. Evidently, the only sources left untapped are puppet shows, so Friday, Thunderbirds are go!
Those who have waited their whole lives to see the rocket-faring Tracy family get the cinematic treatment—assuming such people exist—may be disappointed. Like Mission: Impossible, this adaptation takes tremendous liberties with the show, pushing the main characters into the background in favor of focusing on a fifth Tracy son, who happens to be the same age as the film's target audience.
Brady Corbet plays Alan, son of billionaire and former astronaut Jeff Tracy (Bill Paxton), a man who, enlisting the help of his other four boys, has created an International Rescue team named after the colorful toys they pilot: Thunderbirds. Being the sixth member of a family with only five cool vehicles leaves Alan feeling a little left out. Fortunately, for every wealthy, heroic philanthropist, there is an equally well-funded super-villain with snake eyes and mind-control powers. This particular evil-doer goes by the name of the Hood (Ben Kingsley) and quickly puts Tracy and sons in jeopardy, leaving only Alan and his two friends to save them.
The three prepubescent rescuers are the film's weakest attribute. As hard as Thunderbirds tries to be Spy Kids, most of its characters end up having less personality than the original show's puppets. Much of the dialogue is of the generic pep-talk variety, with the best lines going to Lady Penelope (Sophia Myles). "I am an undercover agent, so please try to be discreet," she says, before getting into her six-wheeled, rocket-powered, pink car.
The true stars of the film are the Crayola-colored, retro-futuristic aircraft. The film's CG effects are a far cry from the original show's models on strings, and are always a pleasure to watch. Director Jonathon Frakes (Star Trek: First Contact) also knows just how to pace an action sequence to keep pulses pounding, even in the presence of hokey dialogue and flat characters. A Spy Kids rip-off loosely based on a '60s puppet show seems like a surefire recipe for disaster, but Frakes manages to salvage the best of the material and turn it into something entertaining, and that's as impressive a rescue as anything the Thunderbirds do.