Thunderbirds [DVD]

Product Description ------------------- This live-action, big-budget family blockbuster brings Gerry Anderson's cult classic 1960s puppet sci-fi TV series to the big screen. Directed by Jonathan Frakes, the film follows the intergalactic adventures of the Tracy family, headed by former astronaut Jeff Tracy (Bill Paxton), who lives with his five sons on the top-secret Tracy Island, which also houses the headquarters of the top-secret International Rescue organisation. When villainous criminal 'The Hood' (Ben Kingsley) orchestrates an elaborate plan to remove Jeff and his four eldest sons temporarily from home, so that he can invade the island and attempt to steal some of the organisation's most valuable equipment, it is left to Jeff's youngest son Alan (Brady Corbet) to save the day... .co.uk Review ------------- The deep love that young boys feel for planes, cars, and gadgets is the driving energy of Thunderbirds, a live-action movie based on the British puppet TV show of the 1960s. Bill Paxton (Near Dark, One False Move) plays Jeff Tracy, billionaire ex-astronaut, who's turned his family of heroic sons into a crack rescue squad, zooming to danger and saving people using super-sophisticated vehicles. The youngest boy (Brady Corbet) hasn't yet joined the team and resents every moment he's not in uniform---but he gets his chance when a malevolent villain called the Hood (Ben Kingsley, slumming a bit from Gandhi and Sexy Beast) traps the rest of the family on a crippled space station and turns the Thunderbird vehicles to his evil purposes. Expect bright colors, clumsy dialogue, and a less-than-thrilling plot, but many kids will enjoy the fantasy of a secret island, rocket ships, and flying cars. --Bret Fetzer

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