Thunderbird 6

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Thunderbird 6; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.50 Pace: 1.25 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.25

TOTAL: 6.50 out of 10.00

As a kid, I always found the Thunderbirds to be a rather uninteresting viewing. I know, wash my mouth out. But I was too young to appreciate the story or the marionette action. At that age, I needed more bang and flash and much less plot. Luckily, I've aged to a point where I can appreciate those things - and more.

Gerry and Sylvia Anderson take the writers' seats for this big-picture Thunderbird outing. On the whole, they do a decent enough job. However, there appear to be a few alterations to International Rescue's secrecy policy. At the movie's opening, Brains is in a meeting with a top aeronautical company to get his new invention off the ground - a technologically advanced airship. This conference takes place in complete secrecy, and the board members never meet Brains. Once the airship's construction is complete, the International Rescue team receive an invite on its maiden voyage. And as we progress through the story, it becomes evident that the hijackers also know their passengers are International Rescue. So much for keeping a secret, huh? Sadly, the Andersons had to drop the concealment issues due to poor story structuring. This neglect allows the hijackers to bug and record Lady Penelope, enabling them to splice together a recorded message - A message that'll drop the Thunderbirds into The Black Phantom's trap. So the bad guys not only know their passengers' secret identities, but also the content and style of the message they're required to send? Brains should check their security and stop messing about trying to come up with a Thunderbird 6. But apart from that glaring inconsistency, the story is pretty solid. The characterisations are spot on, which is how they should be since their creators are writing their story. And in this journey, the Andersons have taken the marionettes a step closer to a more adult world. There are more killings in this film than in all the TV shows. But what got me was the body dumping of the original aircrew in the ocean. I thought it was great, but I have a dark sense of humour. Luckily for the audience, they've not introduced sex into the International Rescue universe - otherwise, we'd have to have a character called Richard Woodcock.

David Lane does a marvellous job with the direction. The one thing that he could've altered to make for a more enjoyable movie was the tempo. He gives T6 a quick stroll of a pace. This speed doesn't always work with the more thrilling aspects of the narrative, like the shoot-outs. In truth, it has the opposite effect and makes them a tad dull. Had he edited quicker, the speedier transitions would have built up the tension and excitement. Where he excels is with the model-to-real-life shifts. The best example of this is the Tiger Moth Bi-Plane. There are at least two versions. One is a remote control model, and the other is a real piloted aeroplane. Having a real aircraft allows Lane to capture more realistic flight scenes with actual scenery and vistas. It works particularly well in the end rescue sequence - you hardly notice the segues.

As for the performances, the puppeteers are excellent, and the vocal talents are okay. It would've been nice had the actors and actresses put more energy into their portrayals. When your body is actually sculptured from wood, I believe you need to steer clear of wooden acting. By and large, the performers do this. However, there are moments when a few slide towards the lumber pile - namely, Sylvia Anderson as Lady Penelope.

Thunderbird 6 isn't brilliant, but it's enjoyable enough to waste an hour-and-a-half on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It's one of those films you can stick on for the Grandkids, tell them how much you enjoyed it, and then drift off into snooze-land as they baulk and moan at how boring and stupid it is. Ah, those precious family moments.

Okay, I've cleared a runway, so land that Thunderbird and nip over here to scrutinize my IMDb lists - The Final Frontier, The Game Is Afoot, Let's Get Animated, and Holding Out For A Hero to see where I ranked Thunderbird 6.

Take Care & Stay Well.