Garret’s Movie Palace: Into the Storm

By Garret Jordan

Well, I was not blown away by this movie — pun intended. I thought for sure that this latest tornado-thon would be better than Twister, given the advances in special effects since 1996. The effects were great, but they just weren’t enough. The exposition and rising action of any story are supposed to be the building blocks for the climax. Alas, this movie was lacking in both. A brief ten-minute-give-or-take exposition quickly transitioned into the rising action, but there wasn’t much of that either. Thankfully, once the climax hit – pardon the expression — I was taken on a whirlwind of a good time (again, pun intended.)

I was taken on a journey by three different groups of people, one of which was there strictly for comic relief only. Here’s the thing about comic relief: in order to bring relief, you have to be funny! These guys were about as funny as George W. was a good president, meaning not at all. The actors were all unknown B-listers. The reason for the use of unknown actors is probably because the production company spent so much on special effects that they could not afford the A-list actors like Cruise or Clooney. The real “stars”, truth be told, were not even human. They were the tornadoes themselves. Had the actors brought to this movie as much ferocity and depth as the twisters, I can guarantee it would have been a lot better.

The movie lasted one hour and 29 minutes. I think it would have been better off airing as a TV movie. The Discovery Channel could have aired it as “Storm Chasers: The Movie.” Or, even better, they could have sold it to the Sci Fi Channel, thrown some sharks in the mix, and called it Sharknado 3. My point is that it was not good enough to be a big-budget, Hollywood movie. It had all the ingredients, but they just did not mix well.

The special effects are the reason I give “Into the Storm” two out of four crowns. It would not have been the same watching it on TV or on my phone. But Twister, 18 years old, remains the king daddy of tornado movies. “Into the Storm” is worth seeing; it’s just not worth paying $10.00 for.

Into the Storm: 2 out of 4 crowns