Into the Storm

'INTO THE STORM': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Found footage disaster flick directed by Steven Quale and written by John Swetnam. Quale previously directed the horror sequel 'FINAL DESTINATION 5' and also co-directed the underwater documentary 'ALIENS OF THE DEEP', with James Cameron; he also served as a second unit director on Cameron's 'AVATAR' and 'TITANIC'. Swetnam also wrote the horror flick 'EVIDENCE' and the dance film sequel 'STEP UP ALL IN' (which was released the same weekend as 'INTO THE STORM', for some reason). The movie stars Richard Armitage (of 'THE HOBBIT' films fame), Sarah Wayne Callies and Matt Walsh. I thought it started out slow but ended up with a bang; pretty entertaining stuff!

The film is set in the town of Silverton, on high school graduation day. Vice-principal Gary Morris (Armitage) has asked his two sons, Donnie (Max Deacon) and Trey (Nathan Kress), to make a time capsule video, to be viewed in 25 years, of the seniors speaking about where they hope to be in their lives. A deadly storm is about to hit town but the community is unaware of it. At the same time an experienced storm chaser named Pete (Walsh), and his team, have tracked the storm to Silverton; they're hoping to capture tornado footage for a documentary movie they're filming. The storm turns out to be much bigger, and more dangerous, than even they anticipated.

There is a lot of character development but it's not well written and the acting is pretty bad. Walsh is great as the obsessed storm chaser but none of the other characters are very memorable. The first half of the movie is pretty slow, and boring, but it doesn't matter; once the movie gets to the action you get what you paid for. The effects are really well done and the movie is surprisingly suspenseful. I guess you do end up caring about the characters enough to care about what happens to them; because there are some really intense moments. Quale proves to be a goof FX and action flick director here and the movie does remind me of a more B movie version of 'TWISTER' (one of my favorite disaster flicks).

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I caught an advance screening and found it a heck of a ride and thrilling fun to watch. I thought it really delivered the experience of being close up and inside the most power weather on the planet, and left me with images that I continue to chew over with awe. For a "disaster movie" it felt extremely realistic, and when you see news reports on TV or YouTube you realize this stuff happens again and again, usually in small towns just like the one in the movie, so it's completely real and they didn't really make any of this stuff up. And I really felt for the characters who, just like real people caught by these events, don't want to be in a disaster movie, they just want to get out of there alive. It got pretty emotional by the end.

I don't get all the negative reviews I've been reading, I thought it was really good and delivered a great night out. What do people want, stupid Sharknado? Whatever, I had a good time watching it. And I'm glad I caught it on a big screen instead of renting it later. Seeing it big and overwhelming is the way to go!

My family is a big movie-watching family. That's our thing. We watch a lot of different types of movies and we watch movies all the time. So I feel confident in saying I know quite a bit about movies--about what makes a good movie, how to tell a good movie from a bad movie, etc.

My mom really wanted to see "Into the Storm" because she's on kind of a Richard Armitage kick since "The Hobbit". We talked about going to the theaters to see it, but I decided to check the IMDb reviews, and they told me it was a terrible movie.

So we didn't see it. Tonight I was picking up a couple Redbox movies on my way home, and decided to get this one because why not. I wasn't expecting anything, but we were still curious about it.

So we watched it, and I LITERALLY DON'T GET all the negative reviews!! The main strike against this movie (according to the reviews) was the acting. What?! I thought the acting was really good! I thought the characters were all believable! I was able to understand and emotionally connect to all the characters--there were two scenes that made me cry a bit, and I am NOT a crier. I NEVER cry during movies. The acting and the documentary-style filming actually made me feel like I was ACTUALLY THERE (although this could probably have been even more palpable if I had seen it in theaters...that's what you get for basing a decision on IMDb reviews?), which was very stressful, but made the movie so much more enjoyable.

I have seen A LOT of bad movies in my time; "Into the Storm" doesn't even come close to making that list.

It is graduation day in the town of Silverton and the sons of the vice- principal Gary (Richard Armitage), Donnie (Max Deacon) and Trey (Nathan Kress), are responsible for filming the ceremony. However, Donnie has a crush on his mate Kaitlyn (Alycia Debnam Carey) and he has the chance to go with her to an abandoned chemical facility to help her in an assignment, leaving his brother alone. Meanwhile the storm tracker Pete (Matt Walsh) is advised by his meteorologist Allison (Sarah Wayne Callies) to head to Silverton where a tornado will probably appear. Pete needs to prepare footage of tornado for the producer and he drives his truck Titus with the cameraman Jacob (Jeremy Sumpter) followed by the equipped van with Allison, the driver Daryl (Arlen Escarpeta) and Lucas (Lee Whittaker) to film the tornado. However, several erratic tornadoes arrive in the town and seem that there is not no safe shelter to protect the inhabitants of Silveton.

"Into the Storm" is an entertaining movie with a poor and corny story and very impressive special effects. The movie gives the sensation to the viewer that he or she is near of inside a tornado. The bad thing is the story, with clichés and stupid attitudes. Donnie and Kaitlyn are trapped in a chemical facility plant with water but no contamination by chemicals. Kaitlyn is wounded in the ankle, but in the end she can perfectly walk with Donnie. The family drama of Gary and his sons is clichés and boring. The part supposed to be funny with Donk and Reevis is silly. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "No Olho do Tornado" ("In the Tornado's Eye")

'Into the Storm' is purely a guilty pleasure, that works as a good fun flick. Its not something remotely phenomenal, but its entertaining & visually rich, nonetheless.

'Into the Storm' Synopsis: Storm trackers, thrill-seekers, and everyday townspeople document an unprecedented onslaught of tornadoes touching down in the town of Silverton.

'Into the Storm' is visually brilliant, with the tornado bits leaving you awe-struck. The visual effects are definitely the high-point of the enterprise. John Swetnam's Screenplay, on the other-hand, never takes itself too seriously & hence it works. Steven Quale's Direction is crisp, he's handled the film well. Brian Pearson's Cinematography is eye-filling. Eric A. Sears's Editing is sharp.

Performance-Wise: Richard Armitage is a fine actor & he expectedly performs well. Sarah Wayne Callies has her moments. Matt Walsh is first-rate. Nathan Kress is excellent. Max Deacon lends good support.

On the whole, 'Into the Storm' is best enjoyed with a huge tub of popcorn!