By Brett Blake A tornado is one of the most fascinating expressions of the power of nature. As such, it’s kind of surprising that there haven’t been more high-profile movies with tornadoes as the focus. There’s 1996’s TWISTER, of course, but in the 18 years since then (and as CGI technology has become more capable of convincingly bringing them to life), there have been no successors. That has - finally - changed with INTO THE STORM, and those looking for “intense depictions of very bad weather” (per the ratings description for TWISTER) are likely to be satisfied by what INTO THE STORM has to offer. Those looking for a story with substance, however, or likable characters, are likely to be far less enthusiastic about it. Presenting dual narratives that eventually collide, the film follows two camps: a high school vice principal (Richard Armitage) and his two sons (Max Deacon and Nathan Kress) as they prepare for the school’s graduation, and a team of storm chasers (led by Matt Walsh and Sarah Wayne Callies) as they track a potentially deadly outbreak of tornadoes. After some buildup (during which the filmmakers vainly attempt to get the audience to invest in these characters), the tornadoes appear and begin to wreak havoc. That, in a nutshell, is INTO THE STORM. If you’ve seen the trailers or TV spots, you get a good picture of exactly what the movie has to offer, namely some spectacular mayhem, which most would probably have to concede is quite effective. Director Steven Quale stages the big setpieces with an inventive eye, and the movie - which employs a stylistic choice that involves bouncing in-and-out of first-person, found footage-ish POV moments - does have an intensely visceral, “You Are There!” quality that works really well. A sequence involving several small tornadoes (one of which turns into a “fire twister”) that pin down our heroes on a highway is particularly terrific, though obviously completely ridiculous. Where INTO THE STORM really stumbles (and honestly, it’s more a headlong dive face-first into the ground than a mere stumble) is in its handling of the characters, most of whom are given the most thudding, eye rollingly on-the-nose dialogue imaginable. A side effect of this mishandling is that we spend way too much time with a group of fairly unlikable high school students, as well as a redneck hillbilly thrill-seeking duo who don’t just annoy, but actively undermine the tension at several key points (seriously, the presence of these two is utterly inexplicable, and as an attempt at injecting comic relief, they’re a total failure). Coupled with a rather sluggish start (it’s easily 30 minutes until any tornado activity of substance takes place), the movie is actually occasionally tough to sit through with these people. It’s not really a fair comparison, but as the only major big studio release (from the same studio, in fact!) since 1996’s summer hit, TWISTER, it’s hard not to compare the two films. INTO THE STORM certainly ups the proverbial ante in the mayhem department (and, consequently, it feels more unbelievable), showcasing the very best CGI depiction of the wrath of nature thus far put on screen. What it lacks - and what TWISTER has in spades - is personality. TWISTER, love it or hate it (I love it), has a deep bench of supporting talent in the acting department, and all of the characters have quirks and leave surprisingly strong impressions. None of them are particularly deep, but they’re all energetically performed and memorable; it’s fun hanging around with that motley crew. INTO THE STORM, however, presents a fairly low-key lineup of very basic character types: the distant dad at odds with his kids, the dedicated-to-her-work-at-the-expense-of-her-daugher storm chaser, the slightly unscrupulous team leader, the shy high school student with a crush on the pretty (but really smart!) girl… They’re all thinly-drawn, at best, and the kind of people we’ve seen dozens of times before. That can be overcome by quirkier writing and acting (again, see TWISTER), but this movie just can’t seem to be bothered. It’s kind of a shame, because the skeleton of an interesting story could probably have grown out of the movie’s basic premise if just a little more care was taken at the scripting level. Depending on who you are, that might not sound like a big problem. After all, most summer blockbusters are of the mindless, “leave your brain at the door” variety, and on a pure “I want to see tornadoes mess some stuff up!” level, INTO THE STORM is not without its charms. The effects are definitely impressive, and the movie is peppered with some moments of proper spectacle, but there’s nothing beyond that to grab onto, no characters or lines of dialogue an audience member is likely to remember. In short, just about everything involving the tornadoes is good, and almost everything NOT involving the tornadoes is a bit of a chore.
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