The Unseen Movie Review

Thunderbirds

The transition of cult television programmes to the big screen has more often than not resulted in disaster, with the abysmal Avengers movie being the most frequently cited example. In fact, one of the few cult TV shows to have successfully made the transition to the cinema has been Star Trek which, since its first film outing in 1979, managed to revive the franchise to the extent that ten more films and three more TV series have risen from the ashes of an idea that was, before Star Trek: The Motion Picture, considered utterly past it.

So perhaps it is appropriate that the director chosen to helm this big-budget, live-action version of Gerry Anderson’s seminal puppet masterpiece, Jonathan Frakes, cut his teeth as both an actor in and director of Star Trek shows and movies. He does a perfectly competent job, backed up with some colourful sets and the all-important International Rescue machines – of which, as it should be, the hulking green Thunderbird 2 looks by far the coolest.

Although fans of the original 1960s puppet-based series might wish for rather more nods to the source material, it must be remembered that the original show was intended for children, no matter how much adults may have enjoyed it. Frakes has the kids, rather than their nostalgic parents, firmly in mind with this offering - so much so that the Tracey brothers who make up International Rescue barely feature, trapped in space and having to rely on their youngest brother and his pubescent friends to save the day. Witty jokes about their wooden acting being appropriate considering the source material are inevitable, albeit slightly unfair. Lady Penelope and her chauffer Parker (played by the superb pairing of Sophia Myles and Ron Cook) are a nice nod to the past, but there are few other concessions to the old fans. This is unlikely to have the cross-generational appeal of a Shrek 2 or a Harry Potter.

The film’s other big flaw in the summer blockbuster stakes is its lack of recognisable stars. Sir Ben Kingsley hamming it up as International Rescue’s evil arch nemesis The Hood (effectively a cross between 1930s B-movie staples Fu-Manchu and Ming the Merciless), the bland Bill Paxton as chief Thunderbird Jeff Tracey, and Anthony Edwards as Brains are the closest the film gets to big names, and none of them are likely to be instantly recognisable to the young target audience.

In a summer with films like Harry Potter (boasting almost every major British actor still working) and Shrek 2 (with some of both Hollywood and Blighty’s biggest names), it remains to be seen whether a movie with a large cast of almost complete unknowns, directed by a man best known for zooming around in space sporting a beard, can hack it with the big boys.

posted by Nosemonkey @ 12:00 AM