Into the Storm - Movie Review

Details: By Loron Hays; 09 August 2014

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The drama is B-movie level. The acting is high schoolish at best. The “everything is okay” ending is complete silliness. With no Bill Paxton and no Helen Hunt to lead the cause, this destruction heavy twister at the center of Into the Storm is worthy a gander only for its special effects. It has been almost 20 years since Twister blew its way onto the screen and Hollywood’s CGI has become cheaper and more effective. If you are dying to experience a real storm and live nowhere near Tornado Alley, then stepping into the cinemas this weekend is your best bet…just don’t expect anything of substance.

Directed by Steven Quale and written by John Swetnam, this disaster film relies on the found footage motif to carry its narrative forward. It’s a cheap move made even cheaper by its use of redneck stereotypes and conservative leanings in a film that dances around the subject of global warming and whatnot. Why are these storms happening? No one knows. The purpose is not to question says Swetnam; the purpose is to survive.

Matt Walsh plays a veteran storm chaser who has come up empty all year long. That’s about to change with the mammoth storm on the horizon, all set to disrupt a small town’s high school graduation ceremony and wreak havoc. Sarah Wayne Callies, last seen as Rick’s dead wife in The Walking Dead, is the female reporter who must be saved, not once, but TWICE from the storm. And Richard Armitage plays her savior. There is your typical object of teenage affection – played by Alycia Debnam Carey – and a little bit of divorcee drama for those middle-aged audience members but, ultimately, Into the Storm is all about the EF5 tornado.

To suggest that there is any serious acting going on would be a fallacy. Anyone who walks into this super-storm heavy flick expecting any ounce of acting authenticity would be better served with a soap opera. The crew chase firenados for heaven’s sake. This is legitimate B-movie melodrama without the reasoning of actual science. Into the Storm works only because of the on-screen disaster. Countless properties and lives are lost and the audience, always good for another red-state to get eaten by the colossal jaws of a EF5 tornado, is down for it.

All kidding aside, I wanted a better film than the one I got. The special effects are pretty incredible and that’s exactly where my praise for the film will rest. For those wanting to see money shot after money shot of disaster-heavy shenanigans, look no further than Into the Storm. You will get your money’s worth. It’s just nowhere near the intensity of other disaster-themed flicks but – as far as overall destruction goes – is pretty thorough. Eat your popcorn, marvel at the cinematic ruin as schools and houses are gutted, laugh at the rednecks, and leave.

Into the Storm is mere disaster porn.

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MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense destruction and peril, and language including some sexual references.
Runtime: 89 mins
Director: Stephen Quale
Writer: John Swetnam
Cast: Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh
Genre: Action | Thriller
Tagline: There is no calm before the storm
Memorable Movie Quote: "When the tornado comes your way, you're going to know it."
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Official Site: http://intothestormmovie.com/
Release Date: August 8, 2014
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: No details available.
Synopsis: A group of high school students document the events and aftermath of a devastating tornado, while teacher Gary Morris (Richard Armitage) must find his way across a storm-torn town to find his son.