Release Date: August 2014
Distributed by: Warner Bros.
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense destruction and peril.
Run Time: 89 Minutes
Cast:
Richard Armitage: Gary
Sarah Wayne Callies: Allison
Matt Walsh: Pete
Max Deacon: Donnie
When I was a kid, I was constantly fascinated by nature’s fury. What I mean by nature’s fury are the natural disasters that happen periodically: Volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes. One of the first disaster movies that I had ever seen was in fact Earthquake starring Charlton Heston. It was extraordinary. The special effects were unlike anything I had seen before. It was realistic(at the time), dramatic, and scary all at the same time. I think that movie is what cemented my interest in movies dealing with natural disasters. I’ve seen all sorts of disaster movies over the past 20 years, from Dante’s Peak and Volcano to Roland Emmerich’s 2012. Of all the disaster flicks that were released during the 90s, Twister was the best of the bunch. It was an incredibly spectacular film that sported an equally awesome cast. The special effects in Twister were second-to-none. No one had ever been to bring a tornado to life properly in a film before, and Twister knocked it out of the park. Part drama and part action movie, it had a little bit of everything in it. But the reason you went to see a movie like that was for the tornadoes. In fact, the main reason why anybody would go see a disaster movie is the destruction. Here in 2014, we got ourselves a new tornado movie.
Into The Storm opens with a bang as a group of students are huddled in a van taking pictures of power lines that are sparking up a storm(see what I did there?), when they see a tornado coming right them. Unfortunately they don’t get away and get picked up and tossed by the twister. The next day, storm-chasers Pete and Allison discover a massive storm system that’s about to hit a town called Silverton. At a local high school, vice principal Gary has his son Donnie going around interviewing people for a school project. During the graduation, alarms begins to go off and everybody is ushered inside just before a tornado rocks the school. In a disaster movie, story really takes a back seat to the action. Is Into The Storm original? Not really. Tornado movies have been before, with the aforementioned Twister taking the lead. So, what sets this movie apart from the rest? It’s presentation and visual effects, mostly. Found-footage movies are nothing new, either. But when you combine disasters and found-footage, it actually makes for a particularly unique experience. The first movie that did that was the monster movie, Cloverfield. It was all done from a first-person perspective, with a character holding the camera. It was an interesting experiment that mostly worked. Into The Storm takes that and throws you right into the middle of the storm.
A disaster movie can be far more convincing if it feels like you’re on the ground with the characters and Into The Storm does a really fantastic job in creating that kind of tension when you’re basically face to face with the wrath of Mother Nature. Unlike most other found-footage films, this movie tends to be a little less shaky so you can see what’s going on. It really helps add to the excitement when you can see a tornado start to form from the perspective of someone who’s on the ground. If it’s done well, the whole first-person perspective can be very immersive. The immersion of a film like Into The Storm depends on how convincing the visual effects are. The combination of the found-footage technique and the absolutely stunning visual effects really make this a very thrilling and intense film. The chaos that is presented in Into The Storm, is very convincing, along with a lot of the practical weather effects that were used to enhance what you see. The golf-ball sized hail that you see during the storm isn’t CG, they actually used ice and tossed it at the actors. Yeah, there’s definitely a lot of CG in this movie. You couldn’t very well make a fictional movie about tornadoes during an actual outbreak. It’s too dangerous. So they had to bring in visual effects artists to create the eponymous beasts. By using actual footage of tornadoes captured by storm chasers, the filmmakers were able to create several distinct types of tornadoes. You’ve got the rope tornado, the cone tornado, and the wedge tornado. One of the most interesting types of tornadoes is the rare fire tornado. To be honest, the CG tornadoes in Into The Storm, while very well done, tend to pale in comparison when you’re watching the real thing.
A movie like this would have to have some kind of human element, because you can’t just have a movie just showing tornadoes, it’s not necessarily intense. You have to have people thrown into the mix to sell the illusion that they are in real danger. Thorin Oakenshield, I mean, Richard Armitage, plays the role of Gary, who is the vice principle of the Silverton high school. He is also the father to two children, Donnie and Trey(Nathan Kress). Armitage really is convincing as a man who’s not only looking out for his family but also the other kids at the school. Matt Walsh plays the lead storm chaser who’s more concerned about making money than his own crew. The character’s a bit of a dirt-bag. Overall, the performances are fine and get the point across, but there’s nothing Oscar-worthy here.
Some of the storm chasers in Into The Storm, appear to be in it for the glory and the thrill. I posted links to actual footage of tornadoes to show you that storm chasing is serious business. You have to know what you are doing, otherwise you could end up getting killed. The people who actually go out and chase these storms are usually people who work for TV weather stations so they can help give people a chance to get to safety. That’s not to say that the professionals don’t run into trouble, they do periodically due to the unpredictable nature of tornadoes. However, the ones who do it strictly for the thrill tend not to last long, because they are undisciplined and reckless. Tornadoes are among some of the most powerful forces on this planet and they have to be respected. Mother nature won’t hesitate to remind you if you don’t respect her.
That being said, Into The Storm is a thrilling and intense ride that doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. At 89 minutes long, the movie moves along at a brisk pace. As soon as the twister hits the school, the movie doesn’t let up. The destruction sequences during the final tornado are some of the most incredible I’ve ever seen. With awesome special effects, decent acting, and a breakneck pace, Into The Storm is one of the most intense disaster movies that I’ve seen in a while. If you’re a fan of said genre, give this one a spin. It’s awesome. I’m giving this a 9/10.