Thunderbirds

by Carey Bunker | More from this Blogger

11 Feb 2007 03:00 PM

After suffering through his film, I was tempted to put it on the "Don't Waste Your Time" list, but our five-year-old really enjoyed it. So I decided to offer it up with the disclaimer that unless you were or are a fan of the 1960s puppet show, you might not like this movie too much. And even then, the odds aren't good.

Widower John Tracy (Bill Paxton) is a multi-millionaire with five sons. He and his four oldest make up the Thunderbirds, dedicated to rescuing those in need all over the world. John has his own island, underneath which are state of the art computers, guidance systems, airplanes and boats...the types of goodies our current day military would drool for.

The movie, however, is mostly about the youngest Tracy, Alan, who's still in school while the rest of his brothers get to accompany their father on missions all over the globe. He and his best friend, Fermat, watch the Thunderbirds latest rescue with great interest. Alan can't wait to join his family, and feels he's just as good as they are. Fermat warns him to keep his voice down as they watch, fearing his friend will give away his family's identities (no one knows exactly who the Thunderbirds are). Fermat's father "Brain" works for the Thunderbirds as the eccentric computer genius.

A few minutes after watching the rescue, Alan and Fermat are picked up by Lady Penelope who has a real fondness for pink. She's bringing them home (in her flying, futuristic pink car that looks something like a Rolls Royce but is actually a Ford) for vacation.

Unbeknownst to the elder Tracys, one of the men rescued was really working for a criminal who is called The Hood (Ben Kingsley). Shortly after being rescued, he put something on one of the rescue planes that would allow The Hood to figure out the identities of the Thunderbirds, put stop to their do-gooding and steal their machines for his own nefarious purposes. Without giving too much more away, The Hood is able to trap the older Tracys on a space station that's spiraling out of control and running out of air. It's up to Alan, Fermat and Tin-Tin, the daughter of one of the Tracy employees to save the day. They're also helped by Lady Penelope and her faithful bodyguard/butler Parker.

Like I said, I thought the movie was terrible, but our son loved it. I've read many reviews saying the same...adults won't be able to stand it, kids will love it. It was that bad, but it wasn't that good either.

"Thunderbirds" is rated PG for "intense action sequences and language".

Related blogs: Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker Hoot

Learn more about Carey Bunker

My name is Carey and I've been a WAHM (work-at-home mom) for a little over 2 years. I have two boys, ages 5 1/2 and 2 1/2 and two recent "fur baby" adoptees from our local humane society.

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