'Into the Storm' - Review

Into the Storm is a found footage film that follows a team of storm-chasers, a father and his two sons, plus a pair of hillbillies as a series of cataclysmic tornados rips through the town of Silverton. Sporting a military-grade vehicle covered in cameras, the storm-chasers (headed by The Walking Dead’s Sarah Wayne Callies) attempt to document the phenomena for their next big break while the father (Richard Armitage) is drawn into a race against time to rescue his oldest son before the disaster claims him.

Let’s begin with the positives: the special effects sequences focusing on the apocalyptic power of the tornados are terrific, and the destruction left in their wake is a seamless blend of CGI and enormous sets littered with broke buildings, upturned cars and general debris. The visuals are incredibly striking and are brought to greater heights by the accompanying sound design, creating a sense of immersion rarely felt in a massive blockbuster. The tornado-proof vehicle named Titus is also an impressive addition to the visuals, bridging the gap between the Tumbler of the recent Batman movies and the research trailers from The Lost World.

The film also understands that it is at heart a sci-fi B-movie and keeps itself in check at a sharp 89 minutes, knowing when to pack the punch in terms of effects and develop a story without dragging aimlessly for a further twenty minutes. What a shame it is then, that a majority of those 89 minutes is spent in the company of a completely wasted set of characters. For one, there are far too many, and the division between the three main groups means that little time is devoted to actual investment in their problems, and you find yourself forgetting their names almost instantly.

Secondly, what character development there is has been done a thousand times over and is laughably predictable, such as the father who we all know will find a way to re-forge the bond with this sons thanks to the disaster and the seemingly apathetic storm-chaser who will prove his moral fibre by the end. Richard Armitage is wasted in a role that could easily have been filled by any C-list actor and Sarah Wayne Callies is reduced to the character who sits in the back of the van while all the men storm ahead in the Titus.

Which brings us to the biggest problem the movie has: there is a rampant stream of misogyny that plagues the narrative, where the women are either leered at, seen as a conquest to prove the worth of the teenage son, in need of rescue or – as mentioned previously – are simply given a back seat with regards to the main events, and I for one am frankly sick of this being the case in mainstream action movies. Just because B-movies are typically fond of utilising uninventive dialogue, favouring style over substance and treating women in this respect does not mean it’s allowed.

The found footage element is also hilariously fumbled, with all cameras – whether they’re phones, HD camcorders or CCTV – sporting gorgeous film-quality visuals. There are also several moments when a camera will be focusing on someone, then cut to the other side of the conversation to reveal that there was no camera and the entire scene has been confusingly been filmed live-action style.

To summarise, Into the Storm is impressive on merely a visual and audio level, but the predictable character arcs, confused narrative and irritating sexism render the spectacle quite inert. The final scene involves a shot of a somehow untarnished American flag standing tall above the carnage with the rising sun in the background should, which should tell you all you need to know.

2 stars