"A piece of whiz-bang children's entertainment that could appeal to the family market far and wide." Ray Bennett HOLLYWOOD REPORTER "It’s a light, zippy adventure yarn, and I bought it. I know I probably shouldn’t have, but I bought it." David Cornelius AMAZING COLOSSAL WEBSITE "The movie is so on-target for its young audience that this Thunderbirds is a go." Chris Hewitt ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS "The kind of fantasy action adventure that young boys imagine while playing with their model rockets and Lego trucks." Michael Elliott MOVIE PARABLES "It's a blast taking off with the Thunderbirds." Louis B Hobson JAM! MOVIES

"Kids at the screening I attended loved the film and adults found it quite interesting. It reminded me of the "Spy Kids" movies." Vince Koehler ENTERTAINMENT SPECTRUM "The highlight of the movie is the delicious Sophia Myles as Lady Penelope, the most adorable combination of coutoure and kickboxing since The Avenger's Emma Peel." Nell Minow MOVIE MOM AT YAHOO! MOVIES "Thunderbirds contains enough elements to please fans of the show while also remaining coherent to viewers who've never seen a single episode..." David Nusair REEL FILM REVIEWS "When it focuses on the action, Thunderbirds surprisingly is an entertaining, even compelling movie." Willie Waffle WAFFLEMOVIES.COM

At A Glance

"Thunderbirds are GO! Head for this high-flying frivolity for fun, not brain matter. For kids of all ages, it’s F-A-B." [David Foucher EDGE BOSTON]

The opening sequences for "Thunderbirds" appear to offer great promise, but like a politician hustling for votes at election time, they are empty promises. In those initial minutes the pace is set by a slightly uptempo version of the "Thunderbirds" music and that all too familiar "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Thunderbirds are go". At this point it would be easy to get overcome by emotion as the memories come flooding back, the brain cells go into overdrive, something starts tugging at the hearts strings of those who were around to witness those heady days when the "Thunderbirds" were king of the 'telie'. They were simple days then and it really didn't matter to us how obviously crude the production was. You overlooked the very obvious such as the strings manipulating all the puppets and the blatant fact that everything was done with miniatures and there was no attempt to disguise that fact. In those days, it was all in the mind. We were just carried along with the adventure and excitement of another International Rescue. I'm sure that there will be many this time round who will be just as thrilled with the modern "Thunderbirds" of the twenty first century as we were back in the last century. Crikey that sounds old, doesn't it? Maybe that is why they made so many changes to the original concept of the "Thunderbirds", tampering with the mythology and coming up with what is, a straight out 'Kiddie flick'. Brains has a son, Tin-Tin is a young teenager and Alan is a schoolboy, pissed of with having to stay at school and study. Why is he pissed off? Because the rest of the family, is off on endless adventures which always attract great publicity for International Rescue. In other words, he's a jelous little prat. Having all been a teenager at some stage in our life, we should be quick to pickup on where "Thunderbirds" is heading. Yes, you're right. This is all about a know it all teenager who thinks he can do everything better than those who have had to put in the hard yards. And yes you're right again. Know it all, nose out of joint teenager soon becomes, with the help of his friends, the saviour of the world. And just to rub it right in, said teenager saves his families butt too. It's here I should make the following point. No, I'm not confusing "Thunderbirds" with the "SpyKids" trilogy. But gee, it sounds just like a "SpyKids" movie, right! Psst! Yes you. That's right. Come a bit closer to the screen. Please don't let the cat out of the bag, will you? Promise? Ok, it is a "SpyKids" movie only with rockets, without the 3-D glasses and there's no foxy mum. Now you know the horrible truth, so please keep it to yourself. For all that, "Thunderbirds" will still sit well with a lot of viewers, especially the younger ones. And even though some critics see this film as a bit of a letdown, personally, I'd be silly to suggest your wasting your cinema dollars by seeing it. After all, by "SpyKids" standards it's not a bad watch. So how did "Thunderbirds", which debuted on television thirty nine9 years ago,get to the big screen? It's all thanks to Working Title Films who brought us such memorable films as; "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Notting Hill", "Bridget Jones's Diary", "About A Boy" and "Love Actually". "This project is just the kind of film we dreamed of making," explained producer Tim Bevan. "It has great adventure, on-screen gadgetry and top-of-the-line production values. And there's a strong story at the center, which has always been key to everything we produce." At the helm is that famous Star Trek identity Jonathan Frakes and the man who directed Clockstoppers and Star Treks, "insurrection" and "First Contact". So why Frakes? "We needed somebody who had visual effects experience, and Jonathan obviously had that, and someone who would be collaborative and very personable," says Bevan. "But most importantly, because we've got three kids in the lead, we needed somebody who would be able to get on with the kids and make the whole experience an exciting one for them." Frakes says "It's a great opportunity. I think we are all pretty conscious that there is a way to tell the story of the Thunderbirds for the fans, and there is a way to tell the Thunderbirds as a family action movie." [And, it appears the latter's the path they chose to travel down this time, something I'm sure that, once you've seen the "Thunderbirds", you'll agree with.] Heading up the cast who make up the Tracy clan is Bill Paxton as Jeff Tracy. He feels that "The young people who come to see this will want to get into this world. They want to feel the suspense and the excitement. But also, there will be parents who remember the old series, so there has to be some sense of homage in a lot of the charm and wit." Paxton, who appears quite at home in films involving outer space and space ships [having previously starred in both "Aliens" and Apollo 13"] impressed young co-star Brady Corbet who says he [Paxton] "brought much to the mission control element of the film from his previous work in Apollo 13. It's really wonderful to have somebody with that much energy at the head of the family." Equally as impressive is the actor starring opposite Paxton, Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley [1982's "Gandhi"]. "There is an honor to the profession that is not all that common anymore and Sir Ben brought that sensibility to the set," notes directorJonathan Frakes. "We got that gravitas from him, but he also had a ball with the part. He plays The Hood with a sense of mischief." As he did in "Schindler's List" and "Sexy Beast", Kingsley certainly stands out. "You can't take your eyes off the man because he does things with his body that are wonderful to look at,"says Frakes. "It's been a real treat to have him on this project. I think he had fun, and I certainly had fun working with him." Sir Ben is quick to return the compliment saying " that Frakes brings to "Thunderbirds", " the perspective that comes from many years of telling a particular kind of story. We're fortunate in that we benefit from his great experience of the ideas of travel, space adventure, heroism, the unknown, fearlessness, all these qualities he can put on the screen. He really knows his stuff and is a jolly nice chap to work with as well." Perhaps the last word on "Thunderbirds should go to another person of title, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward or should I say, actress Sophia Myles, who notes "We're trying to add something to the institution that is Thunderbirds. The essence of it is the same, but there is just a little modern twist." Crew Bytes "Thunderbirds" was .......
directed by Jonathan Frakes [Star Trek: "First Contact", Insurrection", "Nemisis"; and "Clockstoppers"]; screenplay by William Osborne ["Twins", "The Real McCoy", "The Scorpion KIng" and "The Fat Slags"] and Michael McCullers [Austin Powers: "The Spy Who Shagged Me", "Gold Member"; and "Undercover Brother"]; costume design by Marit Allen ["Mrs Doubtfire", "Ride With The Devil", "K19 Widowmaker" and "The Hulk"]; production design by John Beard ["Enigma", "Erik The Viking", "Splitting Heirs" and "K-PAX"]; edited by Academy Award winner Martin Walsh ["Havkers", "Bridget Jones's Diary", "Mansfield Park" and "Chicago"]; cinematography by Brendan Galvin ["Rat", "Behind Enemy Lines" and "Veronica Guerin"]; original music composed by Academy Award winner Hans Zimmer ["The Lion King","MI2","Matchstick Me" and "The Last Samurai"]. "Thunderbirds" was produced by Tim Bevan ["Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Notting Hill", "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Love Actually"], Eric Fellner ["Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Notting Hill", "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Love Actually"] and Mark Huffam ["Captain corelli's Mandolin" and "The Hours"]. Casting About "Thunderbirds" stars .......
Bill Paxton ["Aliens", "Titanic", "True Lies" and "Club Dread"]; Brady Corbet ["Thirteen"]; Philip Winchester ["LD 50 Lethal Dose", "The Patriot" and "Hi-Line"]; Lex Shrapnel ["K19 Widowmaker" and "Nine Lives"]; Dominic Colenso ["Thunderbirds"]; Ron Cook ["Charlotte Gray", "Quills", "Chocolat" and "24 Hour Party People"]; Sophia Myles ["Underworld"]; Ben Torgersen ["Thunderbirds"]; Deobia Oparei ["Dirty Pretty Things", "Moulin Rouge!", "The Four Feathers" and "Dark City"]; three time SAG Award and Golden Globe Award winner Anthony Edwards ["Top Gun", "The Client", "Northfork" and "Miracle Mile"]; Vanessa Anne Hudgens ["Thirteen"]; Soren Fulton ["Van Wilder", "Face To Face" and "Ring Of Endless Light"]; Rose Keegan ["First Knight"] and Sir Ben Kingsley ["Gandhi", "Sexy Beast", "Schindler's List" and "House Of Sand And Fog"] as 'The Hood'. The Story

"An action adventure that satisfies appetites for simpler times, keeping the good vs evil pure and unencumbered." [Valerie Kuklenski LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS]

Yes, it's 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and Thunderbirds are go when nemesis 'The Hood' sneakily tracks the guys from International Rescue as they head back to their secret launch site on Tracy Island after completing a daring rescue on an oil rig that has threatened to explode. Vital to the success of International Rescue is Thunderbird 5, a giant communication station orbiting the earth way out in space. Here John Tracy monitors worldwide weather and any calls for help. When 'The Hood' destroys part of the station and John's life is in danger, International Rescue race to his aid. As soon as they depart, 'The Hood' lands on Tracy Island and takes control of their computers trapping Jeff Tracy and his sons on the crippled Thunderbird 5. Now 'The Hood' can instigate his plan to discredit International Rescue by using their resources in a daring robbery. But 'The Hood' hasn't counted on the resistence of young Alan Tracy and his friends Tin-Tin and Fermat. Can they save the day? The Verdict "Truthfully? "Thunderbirds" could have been the biggest action adventure film of all time, but they decided to water it down and make it into a kiddie flick. Sure there are part which will prove highly emotive to those of us that grew up on the endless, enjoyable repeats of the loveable "Thunderbirds", but this bigscreen version isn't aimed at the baby boomers wallets. True it's colorful! Yes it's ceative! There's plenty of action too! But there's something really missing that embodied the small screen version. It's called heart. If you enjoyed the SpyKids films you'll enjoy this offering. Good excuse to take the kids out to the flicks. Baby boomers should go along for the ride and hope they get the sequal right." The Cast

Bill Paxton Brady Corbet Philip Winchester Lex Shrapnel Dominic Colenso Ben Torgersen Sophia Myles Ron Cook Soren Fulton Lou Hirsch Alex Barringer Demetri Goritsas Genie Francis Deobia Oparei Kyle Herbert Johannes Zadrozny Nicola Walker Ben Kingsley Anthony Edwards Harvey Virdi Bhasker Patel Vanessa Anne Hudgens Rose Keegan Stewart Howson Mark Nelmes Julian Spencer Andy Smart Debora Weston

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Jeff Tracy Alan Tracy Scott Tracy John Tracy Virgil Tracy Gordon Tracy Lady Penelope Parker Fermat Headmaster Excited Kid News Anchor Lisa Lowe Mullion Know It All Kid Panhead Panhead's Mother The Hood Brains Onaha Kyrano Tintin Transom Engineer Ice Cream Man Henchman Henchman Teacher

The Crew Directed by Jonathan Frakes TV series written by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson Story written by Peter Hewitt and illiam Osborne Screenplay by William Osborne and Michael McCullers Produced by Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Mark Huffam Original Music by Hans Zimmer Cinematography by Brendan Galvin Film Editing by Martin Walsh Casting by Mary Selway Production Design by John Beard Set Decoration by Joanne Woollard Costume Design by Marit Allen Hair Stylist Jeremy Woodhead Makeup Artist Jeremy Woodhead Production Manager Paul Turcotte Unit Production Manager Angus More Gordon Run Time 90 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2004 - Universal Pictures - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2004 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - All Rights Reserved