MovieChat Forums > Thunderbirds (2004) Discussion > Things I love and things I don't about t...

Things I love and things I don't about the film

posted 18 years ago by johntracytb5
11 replies | jump to latest

I was thinking the other day about the elements which I truly love about this film...versus the things that tick me off, so I thought to make a quick list by which to compare. Maybe some of you will do the same...!

What I love:

The depiction of the Tracys regarding how they related to each other: It was great seeing photos around the house, especially of Lucille Tracy, since it was bizarre that she was never mentioned or depicted in the original series. (Jeff had pics of Thunderbirds in his bedroom, but not the mother of his children)?! I especially loved the closeness between Jeff and John in the film; it's such a contrast to the relative coldness between them in the series. And it's great that they sound as they should, with Jeff's pilot banter dotted about the film, Scott's "yee-haw" that makes him sound like the Kansas ranch kid he should be, plus the teasing between the other boys that matches what brothers do. Perfect!

Tracy Island: it's exactly the paradise it should be! Simply gorgeous (even that sad little hammock)!

The ships are truly breathtaking! Beautifully rendered and exciting to watch. They are Thunderbirds you can believe in, all decked out in insane, comic book primary colors. Love 'em!

Flesh and blood, handsome, sexy Tracy boys. 'Nuff said!

Penny and Parker: Didn't care for them in the series, but they totally won me over in this film. Sophia and Ron deserve a spin-off film of their own!
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What annoys me:

The person(s) who wrote the captions needed a script! What idiot thought Bill Paxton was saying "Ray" instead of "Brains?!" (This is on the R1 copy) There are a couple other stupid mistakes as well, but that one is particularly ridiculous!

How is it that neither the director nor continuity editor caught it that Anthony Edwards said "geostational" instead of "geostationary," or that no one caught that we can clearly see that Onaha's hands are not tied in the freezer scene after Penny kicks off her shoe? How about that Alan has schematics of TB3 in his locker, clearly visible to anyone nearby? Why did the access protocol need to be confirmed to get back in but not to have an outsider take it over...? (Oh, this part could go on all day)!

What idiot thought that it was a good idea to edit out the scenes of Virgil piloting TB2?! Same for the scenes in which Jeff explained that The Hood had made it impossible for himself to be rescued by IR in that mining disaster, or the scene in which Jeff questions Penny if he's doing the right thing by putting his boys as risk with IR? Why'd they edit out the scene which explained "FAB?" What low watt bulb figured we didn't need to know these things?

And I detest that "You can't save everyone" scene more than anything else. The motto of International Rescue is to "never give up," not some defeatist nonsense about not being able to save everyone. If they'd left in the part about The Hood having hindered IR's rescue efforts in the mine, then Jeff wouldn't have come off as so pathetic in that scene with Alan. That was the true low-point of the film.

[–] Cmdr_Gabe_E 18 years ago

i agree with most of your points :)! being a fan of the original series, i can say that the 2004 movie was a hit and miss flick. it did some things good, but it also did some things bad (really bad) x.x!

and yeah, i bet most of the female tbirds fans were ecstatic at the sight of the living breathing non-marionette boys on the bigscreen ;)! wait til they grow up into the men they were in the series and they'd be perfect :D!

i also agree that ron and sophia stood out in the film :D! In fact, though i've been a fan of penny/parker in the 1960's, i kinda liked their movie version better :D! penny/parker can kick lara croft's butt anytime. heheheh!

damn...it really sucks that they left a lot of substantial stuff out of the final film :(! most of the non tbirds fans were probably confused about FAB x.x!

TBirds 2004 could have really stood out with the right script, material, and the right storyline :)!

'tis I! - http://www.gabe-e.com
I'm married to...http://www.myfconline.com

[–] johntracytb5 18 years ago

Great post---I really agree with you, especially about Ron and Sophia. They were wonderful and totally deserved a spin-off movie from this, even if it went straight to DVD. Lady P and Parker were presented perfectly in the film and really turned me around on that tandem. It was interesting to see how well they could be used to add to the story's impact (as well as comic relief), whereas in the series they normally seemed to be just a curious aside (unless supplying a reason for the Tracys to go into action).

As for those flesh-and-blood Tracy boys, yes, they've really brought forth an amazing number of female fans who, in turn, are adding a lot of new energy into the fandom. I've grown up feeling as if I'm the only girl in the world who was entranced by "Thunderbirds," but now there are female fans everywhere! The young gents who played the four elder brothers were thoroughly charming and I was really looking forward to seeing them grow up in those roles.

And regarding "FAB"...it probably would have been wise to leave in the line to explain it. However, it was never explained in the original series either, and, as kids, we never made an issue of it. It was just something cool to say and nothing more. The series' writers never under-estimated their audience and assumed that we'd understand its usage. They also left many other mysteries unanswered in the series and figured that we could work things out for ourselves. We never knew what had happened to Jeff's wife (or Kyrano's), and we didn't have a clue how long they'd lived on the island or what else the boys had done in life or why they all had different hair color---we just accepted what was given to us and rolled with it. It just makes me wonder why every aspect of the original series was torn open and questioned and over-analyzed and, in many cases, changed when being brought to the screen, yet when TechTV aired the series in 2002, loads of new fans came on board and again accepted the series for what it was and enjoyed it. Universal made a major mistake with the handling of that film from the very beginning and trashed what could have been an enjoyable and profitable movie franchise.

[–] freefall79 18 years ago

thinks i love Thunderbird 2 and Virgil Tracvy were brillent

things i hate...everything that wasn't Virgil Tracy and Thunderbird 2

Thunderbirds Aren't Slow

[–] johntracytb5 18 years ago

Heheheheh....not gonna argue with THAT: Dominic Colenso IS brilliant!!! He's gorgeous...as well as being a super nice and talented guy, too. He made for a perfect Virgil! But I'll still take my John any day---Lex Shrapnel was 100% John Tracy! Bravo!

[–] SataiDelen 8 years ago

@Cmdr_Gabe_E

And, you'd be wrong. I'm a MASSIVE original T-Birds female fan, but I'm nostalgic, so the fact that there WERE NOT puppets/marionettes was a HUGE disappointment for me. I came in toward the end of this movie on satellite, and I just wanted to cry. I thought the technology, visual effects, etc., were FABULOUS, but the fact that it was complete live-action was devastating for me.

What made the original series so cool and unique was that it combined live-action (the people's hands in close-up shots), with the marionettes in all other shots. the ONLY character in this version I DID like and felt most closely resembled their marionette counterpart, was Parker (especially when he was driving).

Outside of that, I was completely disappointed, ESPECIALLY when it came to focusing on the kids.

It was just... sad overall.

If they'd done marionettes with everyone's voices, that might have made this movie better.

EMOTICONS ARE BACK! YAY!   

[–] rockspider2004 18 years ago

The things I loved about this movie = Nothing
Things I Hate about this Movie = My 9year old Son watched this film and "Hated" every minute of it.
I got the original the other day and he refuses to see it !!!
In my mind that is the death of Thunderbirds !!!

[–] takeaturn81 18 years ago

Things I loved about this movie = Seeing all the great crafts

Things I hate about this movie = The crafts are about the only thing that stayed true to the series.
And Jeff Tracy was miscast! Bill Paxton neither sounds nor looks like him!

[–] moysant 18 years ago

Things I loved?

Lady Penelope and Parker were at least entertaining. I always thought Lady P was about 35 - 40 in the original TV show and a love interest for Jeff Tracy (who was in his late 50s), but then read in the 70/80s fanbooks on the show that she was about 26 (same age as Scott). They put some thought, at least, into her for this movie. Her kung-fu fight scene was good (but does every female character in every Hollywood family movie have to have a black belt in karate or kungfu?).

Brains was ok, but the stuttering was overdone, and where was he suppose to have gotten a son from (another 'missing' mother - what the future doesn't have competent obstetricians?).

What I hated?

Yea Gads, where to start? I really, really, really hated the scene near the beginning where TB1 and TB2 are saving people at the oil rig. Not only are they dangerously close together (the original show actually stuck close to all the protocols on how to fly craft safely) but the boys and Jeff are making 'yea-haw' noises and throwaway lines while oil rig workers are dangling near death. I loved the original show because it did talk about the mechanics and made piloting big atomic-powered aircraft look hard, brave and serious (and I'm a girl who doesn't even drive a car, so go figure).

In the movie IR seems to be already well established and famous (at least with Alan's school-friends) but that just doesn't make sense since the brothers are so young and the organisation must've just started. And why would they be flying over Alan's school on the way back from a mission when they are trying to keep secret? In the original they avoided unnecessary flying over populated areas so as not to be filmed or photographed in case people tracked down their base or stole the ideas of their incredibly advanced machines (although one episodes had Jeff Tracy giving out his name to the US navy, and another his name to a school boy come for a Christmas visit - that was corny).

They put too much makeup on Bill Paxton. And I really thought the plotline that Jeff and three of the boys go up to save John Tracy on a cripped TB5 was lame-brained even for kids. Even a fire chief knows you don't send a bunch of firefighters into a burning house unless he knows it is a safe bet they won't get killed. Why take your three sons with you up into a burning satelitte that could blow-up or run out of air?

I really didn't like Tin Tin's psychic powers. Girls with psychic ability in sci-fi is predictable and gives lazy writers a cop-out to writing a logical plot. Alan was irritating - send him straight off to bratcamp, Jeff! The 'nice' servants were weak and I found them offensive (probably because they were stereotypical non-white servants). They didn't spend nearly enough time telling us which brother had which name and what TB he flew. They were so interchangeable and didn't seem particularly smart. And the actor playing John Tracy (my favourite from the show) was miscast. But that's just because I always fantasise a young Brad Pitt/David Bowie morph.

[–] Battlejayroyale 14 years ago

Things I hated;

- Thunderbird 2 looked nothing like Thunderbird 2.
- No Pods for Thunderbird 2 and no dropping Thunderbird 4 in the water along with the pod.
- Jeff Tracey should be older. Waaaay older.
- The tracey children should be way older.
- Tin Tin should be older. I don't want to see kids. In fact, everyone should have been older.
- Brains had a son !
- Childish humor. The original serie was way darker and had a more adult feeling to it.
- Tracey island looked like crap. Whats with all the round figures? It's just to kitch.
- Alan Tracey is going to school ? That's really lame.
- The story could have been much better. It was really bad. I would rather see a 90 minute rescue operation than this stuff with the Hood.
- FAB1 flies ? Damn that pissed me off.
- The ridiculous fights.
- Music could be way better if they remixed some of the old music. It's a shame because I love Hans Zimmer.

They should have made a film that attracted the audience who loved the original show, not the new generation kids.
This movie is way to colorfull, childish and just kitch with a lot of bad redesigns.

I just didn't want to be a loser anymore.

[–] Bestwood12105 14 years ago

What i love:
-that Virgil is so hot in this! =P
-the thunderbird crafts look absolutly amazing, someone really went out to make them more modern. Although i liked the orginal series of crafts, you look at the tech we have now, and the new crafts needed that boost in tech.
-thunderbird 5 being hit, why i dont know, i liked the original series of thunderbird 2 and 1 crashing, there was just the element of, omg, what they gonna do!!
-when they got back fromt he mission at the beginning its such a family sight, with jeff going 'look out' as his older brothers come to great him, with the brothers ruffling alan's hair, hi fiving fermat, just somethign that couldnt be done really in the original.
-all the lines (all thogh evry few) that dominic did as Virgil (i don't surpose your guessing who i loved =P)
-the brilliance of how they made tracy island (after watching the dvd special features)
-the fact that i am NOT the only girl that loves thunderbirds
-Parker is perfectly played, saying that, so is Lady P
-that windows 7 has made me a lovely looping background of thunderbirds (lol)

What i hate:
-that virgil isn't featured enough in this!!! grrrrr
-that it is 2010 and no sequel =( (tear in eye)
-that i want to know what the second films plot was of
-i most deffinatly hate everyone taking the mick out of this film, and putting it down, if it was so bad, why ruin everyone else day by sayign how rubbish it is to true loers of the film =(
-that i have watched every inch of the dvd and special features! lol

i am hoping for a sequel, it may have done bad in making money, but they coud make a call to me, and i would be in every playing of the sequel to make it profit! =P lol

[–] powersroc 14 years ago

The producers & writers of the Thunderbird movie totally dropped the ball on this disappointing film. The TV show from the 60s was about the Thunderbird rescue crafts & International Rescue missions.This movie reduced the Thunderbirds to little more than a cameo. It made the 3 kids the focus & concentrated on them running all over Tracy Island.Almost all of the characters should have been older & the movie absolutely should not have been played in the camp style that it was but as a serious,action adventure movie.I read an interview with Gerry Anderson & he stated that the producers never contacted him at all about this project! That was an immediate red flag to me that this film could be a mess.When you ignore the man who created & produced the TV show & don't seek his input it speaks of monumental hubris.I was impressed by much of the look of the film.Yes,the Thunderbird rescue crafts & space station were modified compared to their TV counterparts but all for the better I thought.Just as the Enterprise was upgraded for Star Trek The Motion Picture,they did the same here with the Thunderbirds.Tracy Isle was stunning as were the interior sets of everything at this secret base.The uniforms were weak,overall though they had the artistic design down magnificently.What they did not have right at all was the script.I'd love to see another Thunderbirds movie...done correctly this time.