Thunderbirds

Director: Jonathan Frakes
Writers: William Osborne and Michael McCuller
Distributors: Universal Pictures & Working Title Films
Released: July 30, 2004
Budget: $54 Million

Cast:

• Brady Corbet as Alan Tracy
• Bill Paxton as Jeff Tracy
• Vanessa Anne Hudgens as Tintin
• Anthony Edwards as Brains
• Ben Kingsley as The Hood
• Sophia Myles as Lady Penelope
• Philip Winchester as Scott Tracy
• Lex Shrapnel as John Tracy
• Dominic Colenso as Virgil Tracy
• Ben Torgersen as Gordon Tracy
• Soren Fulton as Fermat
• Ron Cook as Parker
• Bhasker Patel as Kyrano

Synopsis

The year is 2020 (according to an on screen caption). Teenager Alan Tracy (Brady Corbet), sent off to a distant boarding school, is the youngest of the sons of Jeff Tracy, a retired American astronaut (Bill Paxton). Jeff and his older sons are joined in this effort by Lady Penelope (Sophia Myles) and her butler/chauffeur Parker. Their futuristic hardware is largely developed by a genius scientist known as Brains (Anthony Edwards), who lives at the International Rescue base on Tracy Island, somewhere in the Pacific.

Alan is eager to join his family in their work, but his big brothers still see him as just their little kid brother; not ready for duty. Alan is befriended by Brains’ son Fermat (Soren Fulton) and has a budding romance with Tintin (Vanessa Anne Hudgens), adolescent daughter of Tracy Island’s caretaker, Kyrano (Bhasker Patel), and the cook, Onaha.

The Hood (Ben Kingsley), brother of Kyrano and bitter over having been abandoned and presumed dead by the Thunderbirds in an early rescue attempt, he has come to destroy them and take their machines to use in a daring raid on the Bank of London vaults. He launches a missile to wreck Thunderbird 5, the orbiting communications station. The Tracys except, of course, for Alan – launch into space aboard Thunderbird 3 to rescue John Tracy, who is manning the station when it is hit, and The Hood takes over the secret island base.

The Hood takes control of the Thunderbirds home base, aided by his confederates Transom (Rose Keegan) and strongman Mullion (Deobia Oparei). He also disables the control systems, stranding the rescuers aboard the disintegrating Thunderbird 5. Alan, Tintin and Fermat, having observed the invasion of the Hood and his minions, then hearing his plans, launch a hasty resistance. Fermat disables heavy-lifter Thunderbird 2 as they retreat from the base, then flee to the mountaintop radio transmitter site. They make contact with Jeff Tracy, who tells them to wait for Lady Penelope to come and take charge. However, the impulsive Alan leads the other two teenagers into ill-planned action, resulting in their capture. Lady Penelope and Parker are likewise captured, and Alan is forced to give Thunderbird 2’s missing guidance processor to the Hood. The island’s defenders all end up locked in the walk-in freezer while The Hood, Transom and Mullion head off to London.

The Hood, Mullion and Transom are arrested by the police with the Hood as they were captured and held up inside the Bank of London with the help of Alan, Tintin and Fermat. With the evil-doers turned over to police custody, the Tracys return home, where the three young heroes are inducted into International Rescue. Moments later a call from the President has the Thunderbirds (minus Jeff who stays behind, but including Alan and presumably Fermat and Tintin) off on another mission.

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