HOLLYWOOD—Let’s start out by saying “Into the Storm” is a film that doesn’t deliver much in terms of character development. This is more a tale about the wicked ways of Mother Nature and climate change. Yep, we’ve seen plenty of disaster flicks “The Day After Tomorrow,” “Twister” and “2012” to name a few.
What separates this flick from the others is its ability to focus keenly on the visual effects to enthrall the viewers into an unworldly movie extravaganza. Think of it as “Twister” on steroids, because it’s a tale of a tornado outbreak that shakes the small town of Silverton, in the midst of what is expected to be the happiest moment for a group of graduating high school seniors.
What is believed to be one tornado, soon branches out to multiple tornadoes, in one case we get a firenado (a tornado that is engulfed in flames). Not as far-fetched as the sharknado concept, I might add. We have a bunch of townsfolk running around to rescue their loved ones, while Pete (Matt Walsh) a veteran storm chaser is desperate to obtain as much information on the weather-related incident at any costs. In the midst of his journey to film footage of a tornado from a highly secured vehicle, he places people that he cares about in harms way.
There is always something about scientist looking to do the good for mankind, who actually end up breaking ethical and moral codes to seek out the research they so desperately want. While the narrative for “Into the Storm” is no Oscar-winning screenplay, the visual effects are top-notch, thanks to director Steven Quale, whose previous outing includes “Final Destination 5.” The guy knows his way behind the camera, that bridge scene in “FD5” was hands-down one of the most visceral things I’ve seen captured on the big screen.
Quale takes that same camera work for this tense-weather thriller, placing the audience into the direct path of a tornado on a path of destruction. For those who have never witnessed the chaos of a tornado first hand, trust me, it’s something that words can barely describe. This movie gives the audience a taste of the destruction a tornado can have on a town, a city or state in matter of minutes.
Watching “Into the Storm,” I didn’t walk out the theater completely loving this movie, but I did walk out thinking just how terrifying it would be to be in the path of a tornado that has no target.
By LaDale Anderson
