I had high hopes for this movie, but it seems the makers did not. They could have had faith in the source material. They could have hoped that preserving the wonderful legacy of the original TV show (albeit with modest adjustments for a contemporary audience) would have been worthwhile, and delivered a hugely enjoyable action adventure movie. Instead, they either did not understand the value of the source material they were handling, or did not appreciate it. Whichever was the case, they jettisoned it, threw away most of anything that would have made this a creditable movie, and re-made 'Spy Kids'.
If trying to be fair (and perhaps fairer than the makers deserve), there are two potential audiences for this movie - those who have fond memories of the original TV show, and those who don't. The latter group may find it passably enjoyable. They may wonder why anyone wanted to make a 'Spy Kids' clone. They may wonder why the producers think an action adventure movie for kids has to be ABOUT kids having adventures, when the rest of Hollywood has moved on and realized this need not be the case. They may wonder why they are sitting through a strictly formulaic movie-by-numbers flick with dial-it-in performances, promoted as if it's meant to be a big summer hit. But they might find it averagely OK.
But the first group - those who not only remember the Gerry Anderson TV show but remember it fondly - will feel sick that such wonderful potential has been wasted. Gerry and Sylvia Anderson created a marvelous action adventure fantasy world, with a great premise and endless potential. The show had warmth, humour, fun, thrills and spills and a unique tone which endeared it to millions and made it Anderson's biggest ever hit show. The producers of this lame movie have not only paid no heed to the spirit of the original (even telling Anderson that his services were not required), but actively trampled all over it. A modest tinkering with the material to bring it up to date would have been fine, welcome and appropriate. Instead they have comprehensively missed the point of the original TV show, messed around with the characters, invented characters that never existed and put them centre stage (Brains has a son?) and otherwise treated their source material with utter contempt.
It is a great movie? No. It's isn't even a good one. The first duty of any film-maker is to find a good story worth telling, and to tell it well. They haven't. The story is dull, flat, predictable and lamely paraded before us. At the same time, they have treated the Thunderbirds concept with disdain and contempt, and soured what could have been a great new franchise.
