Thunderbirds lift-off

Thunderbirds

Director: Jonathan Frakes

Cast: Ben Kingsley, Sophia Myles, Ron Cook, Bill Paxton, Brady Corbet, Soren Fulton, Anthony Edwards, Vanessa Anne Hudgens

Cert: 12.

It's taken 40 years for those jerky little heroes of International Rescue and Tracy Island to return to the screen; this time as live-action characters.

It was hardly worth the wait.

Thunderbirds have become a cult since they first took off - amid a shower of sparks and smoke - on their many battles against the evil ones and it's surprising, in a way, that we have waited so long for the big-budget blockbusting treatment.

A lot of today's audience won't really grasp just how popular Jeff Tracy, Lady Penelope, Parker and the brothers were, so they will have to judge them on this film alone. And it's disappointing.

The storyline concerns The Hood (Kingsley) and his schemes for world domination and the destruction of his foes, the Tracy family. It's merely adequate.

Frakes really ought to have done better; after all, he's Commander Riker from the USS Enterprise! But he doesn't manage to inject any elements of innovation and excitement into the film.

How much better it should have been; Thunderbirds are Go (sort of)!

Star Rating: 3/5