January is a dead month anyway so why not upload a random niche video? If you want more like this, donate to my Patreon where you can even commission videos about a film/show YOU choose! www.patreon.com/harbowholmes
My friend and I watched this together when we were exceptionally bored one day because we both remembered it from our childhood. All we agreed on was that the Soundtrack was banging, and that Ben Kingsley played a better Mandarin here than in Iron Man 3.
I felt like the 2015 reboot did everything right that this one did wrong. It updated the basic concept while still being respectful towards it, but at the same time not being afraid to do its own thing. Where changes were made, it never felt like "we don't care about the original," it was more like, "Okay, but wouldn't it be interesting if..."
While I still hold a great affection for this film, particularly the amazing musical score by Hans Zimmer and co; I do admit that this film is pretty terrible and it's only real staying power was the Busted song.
There are many words to describe Zimmer's score.... 'Amazing' is not one of them I happened to hear Classic FM at the movies, less than a week after I'd taken my 10-year-old to see it they actually played some of the soundtrack on the programme. I didn't recognise the music. A more accurate description of the score would be 'lacklustre' and 'derivative'; even the main titles, using a severely mutilated version of Barry Gray's original theme were dire. This would have far more inspiring: th-cam.com/video/UQMD94Mx26I/w-d-xo.htmlsi=rrO30U6OcRAJGw3t
Zimmer is amazing, but he mangled the opening theme beyond redemption. He turned it from exciting, dynamic, and complex to repetitive, dumbed-down, and going nowhere.
In the first episode of the Gerry Anderson Podcast, Gerry's son Jamie interviewed Sophia Myles in a restaurant and she was very honest about what the production period was like as well as the aftermath of when the film was released. Apparently, a lot of the dialogue between her and Parker was written by Richard Curtis which explains why they are the best characters in the film. The other big actresses who auditioned for Lady Penelope in this film were Sienna Miller, Rosamund Pike (who later voiced her in the 2015 remake!) and I think Kate Winslet was also considered.
It's like a gateway movie you get to enjoy the better parts of the original thunderbirds after watching the messy guilty pleasure live action movie as kid. Like a future anime fan watching later seasons of sword art online then going on to enjoy much better shows like code geass , ghost in the shell , og berserk , old school mecha shows , devilman , netflix's castlevania and cowboy bebop.
Such a shame it went through development hell. It could have been amazing. I had many of the toys growing up. I liked Captain Scarlet more. The shows will always stand the test of time.
Saw this is a cinema with my dad after getting free tickets for him test driving a Ford with me in the back, because hey did ya notice Ford was involved? It's not quite ham-fisted placement but it's pretty blatant, maybe I remember it more because of the song and dance they made over building FAB-1 for the movie after Rolls Royce decided they wanted nothing to do with it. Also I'm pretty sure Brains in the show was pretty close in age to Alan & Tintin so it's extra weird they split him into older him and his mini-me. Kyrano was also the Hood's half-brother just to be extra contrived in the show and that sometimes let the Hood mind control him remotely I think?
Yes, I do remember that as well. Kyrano (Tintin's father, right?) was having moments in which he'd faint, but I'm not sure if that was one episode or more.
@@Wright805 Jeesh...reminds me of Potter and Voldemort. Did the Hood get defeated in the end? We had DVD's with seperate episodes on them, I am quite sure we have all the DVD's, but that might not include all the episodes, because that'd be 24 episodes.
The teaser for this film looked excellent, legitimately. The CGI was on point for 2004 and it had Song 2 on it. Sadly as soon as the first proper trailer arrived it was clear what was going to happen.
The makers missed a very simple fact. Children don’t want to play as children. We wanted to be Virgil or Scott Tracey etc. focussing on the kids was the big issue. The film was too kiddified. I presume they thought pandering to what they considered as kids requirements they’d sell more toys?
I haven't seen this movie, but I always rocked to the BUSTED song back in my Primary school days along with their other songs that I don't hear often on the radio in the last decade. I remember it was one of their last songs before the band ended.
The sad thing is that there were so many great episodes, plus two films, that could easily have been reworked into fabulous live-action adventures - and we got this POS!🙁
"What shall we do about this character who is a world famous racing driver who is now an astronaut" "Let's make him a whiney teen" Least they kept his romantic links to Tin Tin.
The icing on the cake of this disasterpiece is Gerry Anderson calling it the “biggest load of crap I’ve ever seen in my life” When even the creator of the source material you’re adapting disapproves of your attempt just shows how bad it actually was
I will hear no ridicule against the CGI designs in this film, because to me they are absolutely spot on translations of the Thunderbirds. Thunderbird 2 in particular is a absolutely amazing design.
I used to rewatch this movie countless times as a kid that we finally stopped renting it and bought the actual dvd. I still find rewatchable. Watching it now I find it goofy but still enjoyable. To be fair I watched the movie more than the show as kid, so I found it enjoyable.
I was so excited to see Jonathan Frakes was directing, I liked him as Will Riker in TNG, and his directing efforts on TV and for First Contact were all outstanding. Then I was happy to hear that the TB machines would be faithful to the originals. Sadly, everything else was ditched. FAB 1 became a Ford, Alan became a petulant teenager, and the Hood became a joke. Jeff was no longer desk bound, meaning the entire IR team was off world. Except for Lady Penelope and Parker, the saving graces of the film! Back in the 60's I was lucky enough to see the full size Rolls when it was transported to my town for a garage opening!
To be fair, FAB1 being a Ford really wasn’t the productions fault…. Apparently, Rolls Royce refused permission to use the distinctive grill. That was the first warning.
As a kid, I was a huge Thunderbirds fan (I also had Tracy Island-- my brother and I completely wrecked all the trees next to Thunderbird 2's launch site from playing with it constantly, hahaha). I remember liking this movie at the time, but now it's at unwatchable levels of cringe. It was interesting how 2004 had two films about kids on a hidden base island rescuing their parents from a supervillain (Thunderbirds and The Incredibles). The Incredibles definitely holds up better. Still, I do love the OG Thunderbirds, and I think the 2015 reboot did a really good job keeping what made the original series so unique, and modernizing other aspects for a new generation. Would love to hear your thoughts on the reboot series.
If there's one thing that we all love about Thunderbirds, it's the classic original proper Thunderbirds from 1965 and 1966. If there's one thing we hate about Thunderbirds it's that god awful live action movie from 2004. Thunderbirds Wars. It's a war between Thunderbirds 1965 and 2004. I came up with that.
I admit I basically grew up on Thunderbirds and have a lot of nostalgia for going to see this in cinemas as a kid (if it’s a 2004 film as you say I’d be 4 at the time and I was already a big fan of the original by then.) But beyond the original cinema experience and seeing it once on DVD I’ve never cared to revisit this one while I still have the full box set of the original which I still watch. Thanks for informing me that this film isn’t worth a rewatch
Lady P and parker were the only good thing about this. Neither children or adults liked it. It was murdered with predudice. This could have been the start of a long series of films.
Initially, John was to be the hero of the show - but Anderson failed to find any warmth in the character's face and didn't particularly like the voice, so he had him confined to Thunderbird 5!
Frankly, I absolutely adore the vehicle designs, the island and villa design, the CGI, the practical effects, the sound design, the score, the opening sequence, all of the vehicle scenes, and especially the Busted song. Other than that, this film sucks, the story was really lame, it’s telling that the best part of the film happens *after* the film is over, and they should’ve made a plot like the old Thunderbird 6 film or the old TAG film with the Zero-X and used what they made here as a fresh coat of paint for that plot instead.
The worse thing about this film is the fact the made fab1 a bloody ford. It’s meant to be a sodding Roll’s not a ford. What a joke. However the other designs aren’t too bad admittedly
The movie Team America came out the same year as this movie did and was a WAY better representation of what the original show was and that was a parody.
Not gonna lie I only originally saw this movie because of the theme by Busted and that song is practically the only thing about the movie that I even remember. I highly doubt I would have seen this movie for several years if I hadn't been such a huge fan of that band back in the day. Hell I still enjoy their music every now and then almost 20 years later... God that makes me feel old.
Lex Shrapnel is his real birth name, he comes from a long line of theater people, including his grandmother, actress Deborah Kerr. The Thunderbirds movie was my entree into the Tracy world. It introduced me to the TV show and then to Captain Scarlet. Can't be all that bad.
I liked Bill Paxton on twister which is one of his best movies, this movie should never had been made, I love thunderbirds, the show, movies such as thunderbird 6 and zero which were brilliant, what they did with this movie is they abandon what these characters and vehicles such as thunderbird 2 were suppose to be, they turned them into nonsense and the plot was really bad
I am not sure if it was better than the 2015 series but i do like the 2004 film. It had it's own identity, and i loved it, plus i get a real childhood nostalgia for it. It was very much a 00's film, and i love the movie for that feel
I agree with your review. As someone who watched the original series I find the film problematic. They made Tracey brothers irrelevant when it focused on Alan (I know he was a popular character) leaving the brothers minor characters. The brothers in the original made it memorable they were the main cast because without the brothers it wouldn't be called Thunderbirds, that live action I mentally called "Thunderbird."
All the issues probably stem back to it being made by Americans. Thunderbirds never took off there, which is surprising considering all the explosions, so it has no cultural impact there. Combine that with 2000s era "It's for kids, right? Just do whatever" filmmaking and here we are. Interestingly, though, I think _one_ detail from this movie actually persists in the modern day. Namely, Tin-Tin's redesign appears to have served as a basis for her rebuilt character as Kayo in the 2015 TV series. It's an improvement over both iterations, I think.
I read that there were huge rows on set. The producers and writers versus the crew. The crew, all time served guys at Pinewood, who were doing that job because they'd been inspired by Gerry's work.
This film has me asking quite a few questions like: How are Alan, Tintin and Furmat able to pilot Thunderbirds 1, 2 and 4 even tho they’d never piloted them before? What was The Hoods plan once he’d robbed the bank? How did the people in the monorail not drown, there’s no way that thing would’ve been watertight?
Liked it, saw it with my uncle who introduced me to thunderbirds. I still have my Tracey Island. Liked it at the time, caught on how bad it was the instant i learned what a 'disney channel movie' looked like. The line "It's not me you're angry at Allan," "its not you i'm aiming at." Has stuck with me as a simple way to do a back and forth reveal, but most of it is just the 'live action' problem like Dragonball. Insert typical attractive disney teen into what is effectively a dress-up party for all actors involved. I legitimately still enjoy this movie (in spirit, i actually havent rewatched it, but i mean i like thin arc of tin-tin holding back her heritage and i can see how/why they wanted to adapt The Hood's voodoo think towards Kyrano and give it a more practical story use), but yeah its a hollow cash grab.
I do like the 2004 film to an extent, but honestly, my Thunderbirds fan-fiction where International Rescue teams up with the Paw Patrol is much more respectful to the source material.
Two great things about the film - Lady P and Parker were exceptionally well cast, to be honest I always wanted a movie about them. And Busted's Thuderbirds song is awesome;
Yeah Busted was probably the best part of the film. Little cringe the lyrics but music wise was good. I found TB2 somehow uglier than the model. It just looked too stubby and unflyable yet they managed to get the rest of the TB vehicles right. I completely agree, the film lacked all the accuracy of the source material. I'd have been okay with a few changes, maybe Fermat being there, maybe the additional powers of the Hood, but to have Alan so young, in a public school, yet will now be seen and known around the world. At least in the original, their backstory is not made so obvious. I could probably show my kids this but only after they've seen and appreciate the originals like my dad showed me.
As someone who watched both the original and the live action movie, I still think it was a rather fun movie, even if it was objectively bad and unfaithful.
me, a massive Tbirds fan, who subscribed for Dr Who content: :DDDDDDDDDD I definitely held this movie in higher regard when i was a kid, because i was a kid, but i love the original series so much. I would love to see you review the Thunderbirds Are Go reboot too!
Accidentally suppressed? I used to watch this all the time as a kid. It was a fever dream up to this point. But I’ve got a super big soft spot for this film.
The only things I liked about this movie as a kid was parker, lady penelope and thunderbird 1 design. This was the first movie I ever saw in a cinema and I was so disappointed and that busted song, I actually hate it which is the complete opposite to that opening song which I liked
Undeniably a bit crap, but I disagree about the aesthetic. I really like the look of the Thunderbirds' tech in the film, including the pretty colourful control panels. I also think the overall cinematography is pretty good. It's just a shame the writing is so bad.
They're just taking liberties. Michael Bay made up a bunch of shit about Pearl Harbor. Why would you want the actual tragic story of Pearl Harbor when you can have a 3 hour love story between Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale. Don't let the title Pearl Harbor distract you.
8:40 I thought I'm the only one who notice the part where they tried to portray a Teenager and a young boy like their just the same age lol. By they way I heard a rumor before that the same thing was supposed to happen in Spiderman: Homecoming where they supposed to cast a 12 or 11 yr old boy to play Tom Holland's best friend in the movie but it never materialize.
You know whats tragic, Michael Bay proved that a Big Budget & Mature Thunderbirds Film could actually work. By making the film Armageddon. Now granted the films plot could have been better, but that very plot resembled something that could have worked as a Thunderbirds episode. Now imagine such a film with a better version of that Plot and with International Rescue doing the mission itself...
And what's up with the insane amount of cartoon sound effects in this movie? I'd be willing to bet the original show had none, other than corny retro sound effects.
I grew up loving the original thunderbirds, I was 5 when the film came out and was so hyped about the film. I grew up in love with this film and still today a 22 year old love it There a good things, the soundtrack is great, the modern designs are great, the Hood and lady penelope and Parker were great, the opening rescues were great. The busted song is amazing It is a good movie buuuut as it’s a thunderbirds film, it’s a rubbish, it’s a pathetic adaptation of Thunderbirds. If it wasn’t a thunderbirds film then yes it’ll still be bad to a lot of people with taste but it won’t be as hated as it is now
one thing i can say about this movie is that transom was my one of my first female crushes. lady penelope was too of course, but there was something about how unconventional transfom was portrayed that i really crushed on. in retrospect now, her portrayal is incredibly misogynistic so i can’t say i feel as fondly towards the character as i once did as a small bisexual
I went to see this film in the cinema in 2004 and I had no idea how it was going to be, I guess you could say I was stupid, but then again I was only 7 going on 8 at the time, although I did find it funny how Lady Penelope is a martial arts expert in this film.
I can’t deny the films many flaws but I think it is no way near as terrible as a lot of people make it out to be. I was a huge Thunderbirds fan as a kid and watched the show on TV every weekend - even was lucky enough to get the infamous Tracy Island set for Christmas. The real problem with the film was the writing, especially that of the new characters. Mullion, Transom and Fermat have moments that are just plain cringe-worthy and a lot of fight scenes are so awkward with poor choreography and stupidly misplaced Looney Tune sound effects. However, the film was a brilliant experience in the cinema for the sheer spectacle of the Thunderbird vehicles and the production design. We're all desensitised to this sort of thing now but back in 2004 the CGI looked incredible. I'm still impressed by the shot of Thunderbird 3 launching and the detail of the reflections you can see on the body of the craft. The appeal of Thunderbirds for many children wasn't really the characters but instead the technology and seeing how it would be used to rescue people from seemingly impossible situations - which this film succeeded on. The oil-rig scene and the missile impact on Thunderbird 5 feel quite visceral. I loved it so much as a kid I actually watched it twice in the cinema, which I rarely ever did. Sure there are things that were changed from the show (the costumes, the design of Thunderbird 4 etc.) but you have to remember that THIS IS A PREQUEL. Even as a child me and my schoolmates knew this as it isn't until the end of the film that Alan Tracy becomes an official Thunderbird pilot. Because of that, in our collective head-cannons we thought all the inconsistencies would be resolved in the time-frame between the film's story and TV show. Also Ben Kingsley was perfectly cast as The Hood who despite his delightfully hammy moments could be very intimidating “open the door Alan!” Saying that the only thing I hated as a child was the actor who played Brains who seemed completely miscast and seemed to be doing a bad Jarvis Cocker impersonation. Even if people debate the worth of the film there is no denying that the soundtrack is a banger. FUN FACT: Part of the reason Parker and Lady Penelope are so great in this movie is because the actors gave their scenes to Richard Curtis to rewrite them uncredited - making a third connection to Doctor Who as he wrote 'Vincent and the Doctor'.
Even though this movie sucks, I still have fond memories of watching it as a kid and having the Tracy Island playset. I wanted to get into thunderbirds but worried there just wasn't a fanbase for it or anything, now I see differently and now I've seen other fans comment, I'm gonna watch and enjoy everything the franchise has to offer, Thanks Harbo.
okay, anything underwater with bubbles - i worked on that. anything with afterburner jets - i worked on that. anything with chaff in weightlessness - i worked on that. i had a smoke and a chat with mr frakes on more than one occasion while this was being made - it's bad in places but it's quite good in places too. luckily i had no part of the storyline.
Admittedly from a non subjective point of view, this film is a great big meh. From my nostalgic point of view I love it and have no problem going back to it. I love the soundtrack and the Busted theme is simply awesome
![Thunderbird 2: Century 21 Tech Talk [1.3] | Hosted by Brains [Thunderbirds]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/s_MtFShbM7k/mqdefault.jpg)
January is a dead month anyway so why not upload a random niche video? If you want more like this, donate to my Patreon where you can even commission videos about a film/show YOU choose!
www.patreon.com/harbowholmes
Wasn’t the live action movie directed by Jonathon Frakes
Can you post a link to the script of the cancelled film you mentioned?
Why you little
Hate this remake so much 🤶🎅
My friend and I watched this together when we were exceptionally bored one day because we both remembered it from our childhood. All we agreed on was that the Soundtrack was banging, and that Ben Kingsley played a better Mandarin here than in Iron Man 3.
Lol
"...BUT WHO WILL RESCUE THE RESCUERS?"
I heard he based Trevor’s Mandarin persona off of his performance as The Hood
Ben Kingsley playing the Hood was the whole reason I wanted to watch him play the Mandarin. What a letdown!
I felt like the 2015 reboot did everything right that this one did wrong. It updated the basic concept while still being respectful towards it, but at the same time not being afraid to do its own thing. Where changes were made, it never felt like "we don't care about the original," it was more like, "Okay, but wouldn't it be interesting if..."
I love the 2015 reboot. I've still got toys from that show somewhere.
At least they filled in the gab on where Ferman came from, cough, cough Brains, Professor Moffat cough, cough 😉
Jago, you're the billionaire ex-astronaut to my top-secret organisation
While I still hold a great affection for this film, particularly the amazing musical score by Hans Zimmer and co; I do admit that this film is pretty terrible and it's only real staying power was the Busted song.
Agreed, that song slaps
@@olimara1647 though the same thing 🌍
There are many words to describe Zimmer's score....
'Amazing' is not one of them
I happened to hear Classic FM at the movies, less than a week after I'd taken my 10-year-old to see it they actually played some of the soundtrack on the programme. I didn't recognise the music.
A more accurate description of the score would be 'lacklustre' and 'derivative'; even the main titles, using a severely mutilated version of Barry Gray's original theme were dire.
This would have far more inspiring:
th-cam.com/video/UQMD94Mx26I/w-d-xo.htmlsi=rrO30U6OcRAJGw3t
Zimmer is amazing, but he mangled the opening theme beyond redemption. He turned it from exciting, dynamic, and complex to repetitive, dumbed-down, and going nowhere.
In the first episode of the Gerry Anderson Podcast, Gerry's son Jamie interviewed Sophia Myles in a restaurant and she was very honest about what the production period was like as well as the aftermath of when the film was released. Apparently, a lot of the dialogue between her and Parker was written by Richard Curtis which explains why they are the best characters in the film. The other big actresses who auditioned for Lady Penelope in this film were Sienna Miller, Rosamund Pike (who later voiced her in the 2015 remake!) and I think Kate Winslet was also considered.
I am a huge Thunderbirds fan, all parts, and this was the first thing I saw, I have so much nostalgia for it, but I can admit it is not very good
It's like a gateway movie you get to enjoy the better parts of the original thunderbirds after watching the messy guilty pleasure live action movie as kid. Like a future anime fan watching later seasons of sword art online then going on to enjoy much better shows like code geass , ghost in the shell , og berserk , old school mecha shows , devilman , netflix's castlevania and cowboy bebop.
Same
It would have been incredible if they haven't make it a child movie
@@NeroLeMorte huge fan of the Gerry anderson shows the original 60s Thunderbirds was my favorite this movie upset me so much 🦕
1:50 to answer your question: yes. Yes I did. I had no idea what happened to it but it was one of the best toys I’ve ever owned
I had the later early 2000s version
Such a shame it went through development hell. It could have been amazing. I had many of the toys growing up. I liked Captain Scarlet more. The shows will always stand the test of time.
I know right
I saw the film, and I couldn't tell the Tracy brothers apart, they just blend together
At least this movie gave us the always brilliant Nicola Walker in the iconic role of Panhead's Mother.
the chad 2015 reboot vs the virgin 2004 movie.
can't believe this movie is what got me really into thunderbirds I was a dumb kid lmao
There nothing Chad about the reboot in fact it worse then this clustering.
If it got you to watch the original series, then it wasn’t a total waste.
Saw this is a cinema with my dad after getting free tickets for him test driving a Ford with me in the back, because hey did ya notice Ford was involved? It's not quite ham-fisted placement but it's pretty blatant, maybe I remember it more because of the song and dance they made over building FAB-1 for the movie after Rolls Royce decided they wanted nothing to do with it.
Also I'm pretty sure Brains in the show was pretty close in age to Alan & Tintin so it's extra weird they split him into older him and his mini-me. Kyrano was also the Hood's half-brother just to be extra contrived in the show and that sometimes let the Hood mind control him remotely I think?
Yes, I do remember that as well. Kyrano (Tintin's father, right?) was having moments in which he'd faint, but I'm not sure if that was one episode or more.
@@Widdekuu91 Yes Kyrano is Tin-Tin's father. The Hood mentally controlled him in multiple episodes.
@@Wright805 Jeesh...reminds me of Potter and Voldemort. Did the Hood get defeated in the end? We had DVD's with seperate episodes on them, I am quite sure we have all the DVD's, but that might not include all the episodes, because that'd be 24 episodes.
The teaser for this film looked excellent, legitimately. The CGI was on point for 2004 and it had Song 2 on it. Sadly as soon as the first proper trailer arrived it was clear what was going to happen.
The makers missed a very simple fact. Children don’t want to play as children. We wanted to be Virgil or Scott Tracey etc. focussing on the kids was the big issue. The film was too kiddified. I presume they thought pandering to what they considered as kids requirements they’d sell more toys?
I haven't seen this movie, but I always rocked to the BUSTED song back in my Primary school days along with their other songs that I don't hear often on the radio in the last decade. I remember it was one of their last songs before the band ended.
The sad thing is that there were so many great episodes, plus two films, that could easily have been reworked into fabulous live-action adventures - and we got this POS!🙁
"What shall we do about this character who is a world famous racing driver who is now an astronaut"
"Let's make him a whiney teen"
Least they kept his romantic links to Tin Tin.
The icing on the cake of this disasterpiece is Gerry Anderson calling it the “biggest load of crap I’ve ever seen in my life”
When even the creator of the source material you’re adapting disapproves of your attempt just shows how bad it actually was
I will hear no ridicule against the CGI designs in this film, because to me they are absolutely spot on translations of the Thunderbirds. Thunderbird 2 in particular is a absolutely amazing design.
Funnily enough I find Thunderbird 2 to be my second least favourite.
Now Thunderbird 1 is beautiful.
Have you even seen the original Thunderbird 2?
The biggest mistake they made with the movie was making it a kids movie not a family movie like the way the original show was.
Let’s have a lady Penelope and Parker solo movie.
I used to rewatch this movie countless times as a kid that we finally stopped renting it and bought the actual dvd. I still find rewatchable. Watching it now I find it goofy but still enjoyable. To be fair I watched the movie more than the show as kid, so I found it enjoyable.
I was so excited to see Jonathan Frakes was directing, I liked him as Will Riker in TNG, and his directing efforts on TV and for First Contact were all outstanding. Then I was happy to hear that the TB machines would be faithful to the originals.
Sadly, everything else was ditched. FAB 1 became a Ford, Alan became a petulant teenager, and the Hood became a joke. Jeff was no longer desk bound, meaning the entire IR team was off world.
Except for Lady Penelope and Parker, the saving graces of the film!
Back in the 60's I was lucky enough to see the full size Rolls when it was transported to my town for a garage opening!
To be fair, FAB1 being a Ford really wasn’t the productions fault…. Apparently, Rolls Royce refused permission to use the distinctive grill. That was the first warning.
As a kid, I was a huge Thunderbirds fan (I also had Tracy Island-- my brother and I completely wrecked all the trees next to Thunderbird 2's launch site from playing with it constantly, hahaha). I remember liking this movie at the time, but now it's at unwatchable levels of cringe. It was interesting how 2004 had two films about kids on a hidden base island rescuing their parents from a supervillain (Thunderbirds and The Incredibles). The Incredibles definitely holds up better. Still, I do love the OG Thunderbirds, and I think the 2015 reboot did a really good job keeping what made the original series so unique, and modernizing other aspects for a new generation. Would love to hear your thoughts on the reboot series.
0:06 I could never, NEVER forget Thunderpants!!!!!
Me and My Mam built a Tracy Island at home following Blue Peter!
Absolutely love this film and Busted for the Song.
If there's one thing that we all love about Thunderbirds, it's the classic original proper Thunderbirds from 1965 and 1966.
If there's one thing we hate about Thunderbirds it's that god awful live action movie from 2004.
Thunderbirds Wars.
It's a war between Thunderbirds 1965 and 2004.
I came up with that.
I admit I basically grew up on Thunderbirds and have a lot of nostalgia for going to see this in cinemas as a kid (if it’s a 2004 film as you say I’d be 4 at the time and I was already a big fan of the original by then.)
But beyond the original cinema experience and seeing it once on DVD I’ve never cared to revisit this one while I still have the full box set of the original which I still watch.
Thanks for informing me that this film isn’t worth a rewatch
It was doomed from the opening credits when they mangled the theme tune so horrendously.
Lady P and parker were the only good thing about this. Neither children or adults liked it. It was murdered with predudice. This could have been the start of a long series of films.
Initially, John was to be the hero of the show - but Anderson failed to find any warmth in the character's face and didn't particularly like the voice, so he had him confined to Thunderbird 5!
Incredible film from childhood memory, I’ll hear nothing else!
11:23 Harbo and Nerdcubed collaboration confirmed
"Sure the designs of the vehicles are great-"
*No they're not!* 😂
I like Thunderbirds 1 and 5. The rest. Eh.
I like all of them except for FAB1
Frankly, I absolutely adore the vehicle designs, the island and villa design, the CGI, the practical effects, the sound design, the score, the opening sequence, all of the vehicle scenes, and especially the Busted song.
Other than that, this film sucks, the story was really lame, it’s telling that the best part of the film happens *after* the film is over, and they should’ve made a plot like the old Thunderbird 6 film or the old TAG film with the Zero-X and used what they made here as a fresh coat of paint for that plot instead.
The worse thing about this film is the fact the made fab1 a bloody ford. It’s meant to be a sodding Roll’s not a ford. What a joke. However the other designs aren’t too bad admittedly
Cause Rolls wouldn’t allow them to use the classic Rolls grill design.
The movie Team America came out the same year as this movie did and was a WAY better representation of what the original show was and that was a parody.
This is what happens when you let someone else pull the strings.
Sad irony considering the originals were literal puppets.
@@kaykutcher2103 Full disclosure. My comment was refereeing that. Thanks for noticing.
I still have all my large Thunderbirds somewhere, need to dig them out XD
Not gonna lie I only originally saw this movie because of the theme by Busted and that song is practically the only thing about the movie that I even remember. I highly doubt I would have seen this movie for several years if I hadn't been such a huge fan of that band back in the day.
Hell I still enjoy their music every now and then almost 20 years later... God that makes me feel old.
Lex Shrapnel is his real birth name, he comes from a long line of theater people, including his grandmother, actress Deborah Kerr. The Thunderbirds movie was my entree into the Tracy world. It introduced me to the TV show and then to Captain Scarlet. Can't be all that bad.
It’s the same old same old. When there’s an utter lack of respect for the source material, a crappy film is a guarantee.
What are your thoughts on Thunderbirds Are Go modern tv series, its got a good mix of cgi and models
Wish all the background characters weren't identical though
I liked it and I am very nostalgic for it.
your right the movie is crap . what do you think of the 2015 Thunderbirds are Go
I liked Bill Paxton on twister which is one of his best movies, this movie should never had been made, I love thunderbirds, the show, movies such as thunderbird 6 and zero which were brilliant, what they did with this movie is they abandon what these characters and vehicles such as thunderbird 2 were suppose to be, they turned them into nonsense and the plot was really bad
I have a sheer hate for this film, especially with TB1's launch sequence, it's completely lifeless and boring
Thunderbirds? That's a name I haven't heard in a long long time...
I might be an exception, but I think this is better than the new animated Thunderbirds series.
DAM ! you went there ? !! ..bet you get comments lol.
I am not sure if it was better than the 2015 series but i do like the 2004 film. It had it's own identity, and i loved it, plus i get a real childhood nostalgia for it. It was very much a 00's film, and i love the movie for that feel
I agree with your review. As someone who watched the original series I find the film problematic. They made Tracey brothers irrelevant when it focused on Alan (I know he was a popular character) leaving the brothers minor characters. The brothers in the original made it memorable they were the main cast because without the brothers it wouldn't be called Thunderbirds, that live action I mentally called "Thunderbird."
Because the script was Spy Kids. It wasn’t Thunderbirds.
The fatal mistake was switching the focus from the machines.
All the issues probably stem back to it being made by Americans. Thunderbirds never took off there, which is surprising considering all the explosions, so it has no cultural impact there. Combine that with 2000s era "It's for kids, right? Just do whatever" filmmaking and here we are.
Interestingly, though, I think _one_ detail from this movie actually persists in the modern day. Namely, Tin-Tin's redesign appears to have served as a basis for her rebuilt character as Kayo in the 2015 TV series. It's an improvement over both iterations, I think.
The movie wasn't even about the Tracy's themselves.
It was about a bunch of KIDS who had to save the Tracy's.
Really?
I hate that all the focus was on Alan, they didn't give the other Tracy brothers a chance
I assumed thunderbirds was a show about warrior type birds who fight evil similar to He-Man and Thundercats…
Boy was I sooooooo off
I’ve never seen a bigger inverse relationship between ‘quality of the movie’ and ‘quality of the movie’s theme song’ as this movie.
I read that there were huge rows on set. The producers and writers versus the crew. The crew, all time served guys at Pinewood, who were doing that job because they'd been inspired by Gerry's work.
I sing the Busted song far too much and I have a lot of merch from this movie.
The Busted Thunderbirds Are Go music video had more energy, excitement and thrills than the whole movie on it's own.
This film has me asking quite a few questions like: How are Alan, Tintin and Furmat able to pilot Thunderbirds 1, 2 and 4 even tho they’d never piloted them before?
What was The Hoods plan once he’d robbed the bank?
How did the people in the monorail not drown, there’s no way that thing would’ve been watertight?
Trying to guess "which pod this week?" was an integral part of watching the series. GREAT!
Liked it, saw it with my uncle who introduced me to thunderbirds.
I still have my Tracey Island.
Liked it at the time, caught on how bad it was the instant i learned what a 'disney channel movie' looked like.
The line "It's not me you're angry at Allan," "its not you i'm aiming at." Has stuck with me as a simple way to do a back and forth reveal, but most of it is just the 'live action' problem like Dragonball. Insert typical attractive disney teen into what is effectively a dress-up party for all actors involved.
I legitimately still enjoy this movie (in spirit, i actually havent rewatched it, but i mean i like thin arc of tin-tin holding back her heritage and i can see how/why they wanted to adapt The Hood's voodoo think towards Kyrano and give it a more practical story use), but yeah its a hollow cash grab.
I'm glad Gerry Anderson disliked this awful reboot!
He actually went to the extent of saying the TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE was a more faithful adaptation of the original series than this trainwreck
Ironically, I remember reading that Sylvia liked it…for some reason.
Oh believe me, I have absolutely NOT forgotten about Thunderpants. And yes, I did have the Tracy Island playset.
If you want a good Thunderbirds remake, I'd suggest Thunderbirds Are Go. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by it.
I do like the 2004 film to an extent, but honestly, my Thunderbirds fan-fiction where International Rescue teams up with the Paw Patrol is much more respectful to the source material.
Godzilla final wars will always be my favourite 2004 movie 🎥
Mine would be Shaun of the Dead, Shrek 2 and King Arthur.
Why is thunderbirds a terrible movie with actor vanessa Hudgens?
Two great things about the film - Lady P and Parker were exceptionally well cast, to be honest I always wanted a movie about them. And Busted's Thuderbirds song is awesome;
Yeah Busted was probably the best part of the film. Little cringe the lyrics but music wise was good. I found TB2 somehow uglier than the model. It just looked too stubby and unflyable yet they managed to get the rest of the TB vehicles right. I completely agree, the film lacked all the accuracy of the source material. I'd have been okay with a few changes, maybe Fermat being there, maybe the additional powers of the Hood, but to have Alan so young, in a public school, yet will now be seen and known around the world. At least in the original, their backstory is not made so obvious. I could probably show my kids this but only after they've seen and appreciate the originals like my dad showed me.
As someone who watched both the original and the live action movie, I still think it was a rather fun movie, even if it was objectively bad and unfaithful.
How would you feel if they showed a scene repairing Thunderbird 5?
me, a massive Tbirds fan, who subscribed for Dr Who content: :DDDDDDDDDD
I definitely held this movie in higher regard when i was a kid, because i was a kid, but i love the original series so much. I would love to see you review the Thunderbirds Are Go reboot too!
Accidentally suppressed? I used to watch this all the time as a kid. It was a fever dream up to this point. But I’ve got a super big soft spot for this film.
The only things I liked about this movie as a kid was parker, lady penelope and thunderbird 1 design. This was the first movie I ever saw in a cinema and I was so disappointed and that busted song, I actually hate it which is the complete opposite to that opening song which I liked
Undeniably a bit crap, but I disagree about the aesthetic. I really like the look of the Thunderbirds' tech in the film, including the pretty colourful control panels. I also think the overall cinematography is pretty good. It's just a shame the writing is so bad.
Hollywood ruins everything
They're just taking liberties. Michael Bay made up a bunch of shit about Pearl Harbor. Why would you want the actual tragic story of Pearl Harbor when you can have a 3 hour love story between Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale. Don't let the title Pearl Harbor distract you.
8:40 I thought I'm the only one who notice the part where they tried to portray a Teenager and a young boy like their just the same age lol.
By they way I heard a rumor before that the same thing was supposed to happen in Spiderman: Homecoming where they supposed to cast a 12 or 11 yr old boy to play Tom Holland's best friend in the movie but it never materialize.
Worst costume and characters ever did not much with original puppet character suits and machines
I liked the retro aesthetic of the model / CGI work . . . But it hopelessly clashed with the _Spy Kids_ sensibilities of the rest of the film.
The best thing about this film was the theme song! :D
A Ford...
A Ford...
A Ford...
FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD!!!!!!!????????????
So those wires kept the plot together? 😲
I love anything about thunderbirds, including this movie 😭😭😭 the hood pissed me off though💀
You know whats tragic, Michael Bay proved that a Big Budget & Mature Thunderbirds Film could actually work. By making the film Armageddon.
Now granted the films plot could have been better, but that very plot resembled something that could have worked as a Thunderbirds episode.
Now imagine such a film with a better version of that Plot and with International Rescue doing the mission itself...
And what's up with the insane amount of cartoon sound effects in this movie? I'd be willing to bet the original show had none, other than corny retro sound effects.
I grew up loving the original thunderbirds, I was 5 when the film came out and was so hyped about the film. I grew up in love with this film and still today a 22 year old love it
There a good things, the soundtrack is great, the modern designs are great, the Hood and lady penelope and Parker were great, the opening rescues were great. The busted song is amazing
It is a good movie buuuut as it’s a thunderbirds film, it’s a rubbish, it’s a pathetic adaptation of Thunderbirds. If it wasn’t a thunderbirds film then yes it’ll still be bad to a lot of people with taste but it won’t be as hated as it is now
one thing i can say about this movie is that transom was my one of my first female crushes. lady penelope was too of course, but there was something about how unconventional transfom was portrayed that i really crushed on. in retrospect now, her portrayal is incredibly misogynistic so i can’t say i feel as fondly towards the character as i once did as a small bisexual
3:01 Team America: World Police came out the same year as this film. I can never look at Gerry Anderson’s works the same way again. 😂
And parked and stone will get beaten up by Jason Borne it's a borne identity.
Harbo, you need to review the NEW old Thunderbirds!
I have a soft spot for this film. Also the theme by busted slaps
I remember watching it in the cinema (those were the days 😂) and finding it kinda meh and the ships were super cool and that busted song 👍👍
I went to see this film in the cinema in 2004 and I had no idea how it was going to be, I guess you could say I was stupid, but then again I was only 7 going on 8 at the time, although I did find it funny how Lady Penelope is a martial arts expert in this film.
At least Phillip Winchester went on to star in Strike Back!
THE MOVIE WAS FANTASTIC AND THEY SHOULD MAKE NEW ONE.🤴💚👍😊
I don't know why this movie was made but this review was probably one of the best things to come out of it.
I can’t deny the films many flaws but I think it is no way near as terrible as a lot of people make it out to be. I was a huge Thunderbirds fan as a kid and watched the show on TV every weekend - even was lucky enough to get the infamous Tracy Island set for Christmas. The real problem with the film was the writing, especially that of the new characters. Mullion, Transom and Fermat have moments that are just plain cringe-worthy and a lot of fight scenes are so awkward with poor choreography and stupidly misplaced Looney Tune sound effects. However, the film was a brilliant experience in the cinema for the sheer spectacle of the Thunderbird vehicles and the production design. We're all desensitised to this sort of thing now but back in 2004 the CGI looked incredible. I'm still impressed by the shot of Thunderbird 3 launching and the detail of the reflections you can see on the body of the craft. The appeal of Thunderbirds for many children wasn't really the characters but instead the technology and seeing how it would be used to rescue people from seemingly impossible situations - which this film succeeded on. The oil-rig scene and the missile impact on Thunderbird 5 feel quite visceral. I loved it so much as a kid I actually watched it twice in the cinema, which I rarely ever did. Sure there are things that were changed from the show (the costumes, the design of Thunderbird 4 etc.) but you have to remember that THIS IS A PREQUEL. Even as a child me and my schoolmates knew this as it isn't until the end of the film that Alan Tracy becomes an official Thunderbird pilot. Because of that, in our collective head-cannons we thought all the inconsistencies would be resolved in the time-frame between the film's story and TV show. Also Ben Kingsley was perfectly cast as The Hood who despite his delightfully hammy moments could be very intimidating “open the door Alan!” Saying that the only thing I hated as a child was the actor who played Brains who seemed completely miscast and seemed to be doing a bad Jarvis Cocker impersonation. Even if people debate the worth of the film there is no denying that the soundtrack is a banger.
FUN FACT: Part of the reason Parker and Lady Penelope are so great in this movie is because the actors gave their scenes to Richard Curtis to rewrite them uncredited - making a third connection to Doctor Who as he wrote 'Vincent and the Doctor'.
Even though this movie sucks, I still have fond memories of watching it as a kid and having the Tracy Island playset. I wanted to get into thunderbirds but worried there just wasn't a fanbase for it or anything, now I see differently and now I've seen other fans comment, I'm gonna watch and enjoy everything the franchise has to offer, Thanks Harbo.
I still love this film cus it was something me and my friend watched as a kid all the time
okay, anything underwater with bubbles - i worked on that. anything with afterburner jets - i worked on that. anything with chaff in weightlessness - i worked on that. i had a smoke and a chat with mr frakes on more than one occasion while this was being made - it's bad in places but it's quite good in places too. luckily i had no part of the storyline.
Admittedly from a non subjective point of view, this film is a great big meh. From my nostalgic point of view I love it and have no problem going back to it. I love the soundtrack and the Busted theme is simply awesome