Movie Night: Thunderbird 6.

Review #512: Thunderbird 6.

Cast
Peter Dyneley (Jeff Tracy), Sylvia Anderson (Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward), Shane Rimmer (Scott Tracy), Jeremy Wilkin (Virgil Tracy / Hogarth), Matt Zimmerman (Alan Tracy / Carter), David Graham (Gordon Tracy / Brains / Aloysius Parker), John Carson (Captain Foster), Keith Alexander (John Tracy / Narrator), Gary Files (The Hood / Steward Lane), Christine Finn (Tin-Tin), and Geoffrey Keen (James Glenn) Directed by David Lane.

Review
I knew nothing about how "Supermarionation" looked on screen until this film. Supermarionation is (apparently) a filming process that combines scale models and special effects with marionette puppet characters, which is what the series Thunderbirds (and a few other series) used, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. They both produced and wrote the film, which is a sequel to Thunderbirds Are Go (both films being commercial failures with mixed reception). Now I'm going to be a bit short with these puppets and outright say this film just isn't that interesting to watch. While I admire the Andersons' attempt to make these dummies look less ridiculous, the film that is built around them is just mediocre in plot, short on excitement (The Thunderbird 6...is an old bi-plane. I know it makes some sense to have a link to the past in the apparent future, but this still counts as a cop out.), and just not much fun, unless you count making fun of the big eyed, big headed little puppets. The voice acting is fine (not so wooden, if you will), though had I known anything about the characters before watching this, I probably wouldn't- Scratch that, I'd still be making fun of Captain Foster, or as I like to call him, Evil Man With A Moustache, who joins Ed Rooney, Ming the Merciless and White Goodman in the Evil Men With A Moustache Club, or EMWMC for short. I doubt that kids will spring much interest into the film, and while it does finally show some life at the end, for others its too little, too late. It may be okay for some, but it's just a show of boredom for me. Not sure if it was worth the $1.86 I spent to buy this movie though.

Overall, I give it 4 out of 10 stars.