Into The Storm (6/10)

I didn't have a lot of expectations going Into The Storm (see what I did there?) but I was blown away (no pun intended) by the CGI.

I believe most of us my age would still remember Twister with Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton from 1996. Somehow that version of the tornado never really left my head. And so when I saw the tornadoes in Into The Storm, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much more we get from them on the big screen. From the way they form to touching down on the ground to growing bigger.

Sure, there wasn't much story, as with most other natural disaster movies. There were those subplots for the characters so that we at least have some care for them and feel for them, some done better than others, but the main pull was definitely the twisters. And they did not disappoint.

Steven Quale, who has worked on Avatar as a second unit director and visual effects supervisor, was the right guy to bring those tornadoes to life. And what he did with Johnny Swetnam's script was keeping the tension for the audience and really deliver it when the tornadoes hit. I didn't quite mind Swetnam's simple script here because it worked, so I'm eager to see what he brought to Step Up: All In next.

I wouldn't say Richard Armitage carried the movie. I thought his performance here was nowhere near what he delivered in The Hobbit movies. And this guy is huge, it's so weird to remember him as a dwarf. But I didn't quite buy him here as a father who has lost much. He was quite deadpan a lot of times but probably had to do with the simple script.

Sarah Wayne Callies and Matt Walsh of Veep TV series fared better with better performances. At least their characters had more meat to chew into.

I enjoyed the movie, it wasn't too long, the running time felt just right; as did the pacing. Quale did good on this one.