Thunderbirds Are Go-ne
In the original Thunderbirds TV puppet show, there was the occasional use of a live human hand closeup. Usually pulling a lever or doing something too complex for puppetry. The new Thunderbirds movie is of course all live action (or a CGI approximation), but it was very nice to see a split-second shot of a puppet hand with clearly visible strings.
(Aside: I wonder if the geeks at imdb noticed that too? Damn, of course they did).
Other noteworthy features of the new movie:
- Lots of great corny lines ("like a puppet on a string") and terrible acting (Bill Paxton at the peak of his abilities).
- Bad stuttering jokes from Anthony Edwards, no doubt cast as Brains because of his unforgettable performance in Revenge of the Nerds.
- Must. Buy. Ford.
- Thunderbird 2 doesn't store it's rescue equipment in numbered cargo pods any more. No idea how they work out which exactly-suited-to-the-emergency piece of kit to take. Maybe they take the lot? But that would leave no opportunity for "whoops we brought the wrong cargo pod!" dramatic tension.
- Lady Penelope was hot, but just a little too young for the character I thought. Or maybe I'm a little too old. Naaah.
The 4-year-old is a big fan of the TV series, but was unimpressed with the movie. “It’s not real, is it dad?” he kept asking me. To which I had to confess “no son, it’s just a movie”. However I have the sneaking suspicion that what he meant was “It’s not the same as the TV series, is it dad?”. Which, no, it isn’t.
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