Into the Storm (12a)
Directed by: Steven Quale
Starring: Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies & Matt Walsh
Running time: 89 min
Storm trackers, thrill-seekers, and everyday townspeople document an unprecedented onslaught of tornadoes touching down in the town of Silverton.
Into the Storm is pretty low-concept but a big undertaking. A group of stormhunters, Allison (The Walking Dead’s Callis), Pete (Role Models’ Walsh) and various other cannon-fodder are documenting what exactly they do, including a tank they’ve had custom built for the job when, wouldn’t you know it, a perfect storm hits.
It’s really hard to review this movie because, frankly, there’s not one character to care about – even the usually dependable Armitage as a father trying to keep his sons safe or the usually fun but horribly mis-cast here Walsh are awful – and everything that happens is a cliche and signposted a mile away.
And the acting is, frankly abysmal. Not one performance rings true at any point – Prison Break and Walking Dead actress Callis relays exactly no believeble emotion during the movie. Even when she’s afraid she may never see her young daughter again and breaks down… remember Sandra Bullock talking about her daughter in Gravity? Man tears. This is exactly the opposite of that.
And on top of the terrible acting, Final Destination 5 director Quale is confused about what exactly this is… it’s part movie, part found footage, all mess.
That said, some of the effects work and set pieces are nicely handled. Pretty to look at? Certainly, but sadly when the characters are all cardboard cut-outs (maybe so they blow away easier?) and the peril at no point feels real it all may as well be – and sadly is – for nothing.
There is a vein of humour running through the movie – the cow will make Twister fans smile – but it’s handled so ham-fistedly that it never really rings true, neither working as a tongue-in-cheek b-movie throwback or serious drama.
I’d imagine this is a movie to get drunk with on a friday night with your friends at someone’s house, but this doesn’t make it recommendable.
Rent Sharknado or Twister instead. It’s THAT bad.
2 out of 5 Nerds
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
Nerd Comments