Into the Storm: Movie Review

Hello Dreamers!

So... I got so far behind that I just decided to spend last week getting ahead of myself and put off last weeks posts till this week... Sorry about that guys. Still adjusting my brain to posting more often. :-)

Anyway, I finally got to see this lovely gem due to a fantastic gift (the DVD) I got last Christmas. And I'd been wanting to see this one for SOOOO long. (Okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic... But Richard! and Peter Pan! In one movie!)

Summary:
Into The Storm is a basic disaster film featuring normal people (who naturally live in Tornado Alley) who encounter tornados on a never before seen scale. There really isn't a whole bunch of plot other than "Oooh ahhh, that's how it starts. Later there's running and screaming." (Courtesy of this guy:

),

but I'll summarize the basics.

Essentially the movie follows three stories.

One is about a storm chasing team that apparently have just missed their "big break" because they missed a rather large scale tornado the night before our story starts. While chasing storms seems to be an occupation for crazies, they do actually have a reasoning (ish) behind it. They are filming a documentary about tornados and are hoping (with the help of their killer tornado-tank (called the Titus) to film from the center of a tornado. This is where Jeremy Sumpter comes in - he's interning as a camera man for the team.

The second story follows two teenagers and their father (the vice principle of the two boys' school). The graduation ceremony for their school is to take place that day and Gary Morris (the father who, by the way, is played by Richard Armitage... who's faking an American accent...) is rather distracted by everything going on. His oldest son, Donnie, is busy making a time capsule. (I couldn't really determine if the time capsule was for the graduating class or if he was just... doing it for fun... or what... I think he mentioned that his dad had asked him to do it... it's unclear as to why... But it's amusing to say the least.) Meanwhile, Gary's younger son, Trey is dealing with crushing-on-a-girl issues. 

The third story is about two redneck buddies who are idiotically trying to make their way to the top of the YouTube pile of fame. They basically spend their time accomplishing foolish feats of bravery and should be dead by the end of their first scene together. *Spoiler alert* Of course, they don't die in their first scene.
Then... well tornadoes happen and each story intersects with the others along the way...

Quality:
If this movie has anything going for it, it's the special effects... I'm a bit of a special effects geek (like... I've taught myself the basics of a professional program that the special effects guys use... like that geeky) and this stuff was like... so awesome for me to watch. So... pretty impressive.

And... if this movie has anything going against it... it's the lack of a story. While the movie does have a plot other than running and screaming, it's rather overlooked because of the rampaging/flaming/giant/twisting tunnels of wind. There isn't much else driving the characters besides "don't die!". (Also... there's not much else to root for as a viewer either (unless you want to root for Trey to get the girl...who really cannot act... at all.), honestly though, I was just hoping that Richard and Jeremy wouldn't die - I'm still scarred from Thorin's death in the Hobbit - Oh... spoiler alert.)
It's kinda like watching Transformers except instead of nonstop action and kissing, it's running from killer special effects... (Actually... it's nothing like watching Transformers... Transformers was wayyy worse in this... Like... waayyyyyy worse.) And it's pretty unrealistic... but I'm not really one for real life anyway. I mean... I like unbelievable sometimes.

But Richard Armitage... and Jeremy Sumpter.... so who cares?

Acting:
The acting was up to standard (well... it had Richard Armitage in it... of course it's going to be up to standard) Nothing too notable, but it was good.

(And I already mentioned that the girl playing Kaitlyn can't act very well... she just couldn't make me believe her.)

Content Advisory:
There is a fair amount of cursing (nothing above PG-13 level... obviously) because well.... tornados and almost dying and.... actually dying (shhh... you didn't hear that from me).

Donnie also finds it necessary to film a female teacher who isn't dressed very modestly... I think you can guess where his camera chose to focus on... anyway, he shows it to his younger brother who doesn't really go along with thinking it's amusing... It's not a very long bit... I'd guess like... 15 seconds or so and he's showing it to his brother on a pretty small camera screen... *shrugs* I don't know. Kinda feel like you're going to see about the equivalent (or more...) watching a Jane Austen or Merlin. Just without the teenage boys...

The Rant Bit:
This movie had me on the edge of my seat. It's intense. Especially when you're watching for your best friend and you're both dearly hoping you wont have to watch Richard play dead again... (and you're less extremely hoping the same for the grown up Peter Pan... Which... I know this is a story for another time, but was a really weird experience. Maybe it was just his role in this film but he still felt very little boyish...) because he's unfortunately rather good at dying.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. And while it's not being added to the Castle List (the Castle Hall of Fame... which will be in order soonish...), I'm a very proud owner of it. And I don't want to spoil it... but the very end was classic. Classic.

3 Fandom Points. It is possible that with different actors I would've laughed at this movie... but it's a part of the Richard Armitage collection. So... your argument is invalid.





~ Aloisa Quintal

Donnie: "Me and the planet go way back."