31 July 2014 | CowherPowerForever

6 | Take Cover!

Having watched some trailers and other previews for this film, I generally thought it was going to be a poor knock off of Twister, with average special effects. While the film is in no way great, or even good, it is better than average and has a lot of fun scenes. This is my review of Into the Storm.



This film was written by John Swetnam who has recently written a couple smaller films like Evidence and a soon to be released Step Up All In. While watching this film you can tell that a younger writer took this project, as the film is filled with tiring clichés and just downright stupid characters. That is usually expected in a film like this, but that doesn't mean I have to pass it off. The characters are very poorly developed, and there are a lot of missing parts to the story towards the end of the film, that make you wonder why they ignored it. Some of the characters are written pretty funny and it actually plays well into the film. Sadly these jokers if you will that are in the film, aren't that much more stupid than the experts this film has. So overall the writing is pretty poor, then again I never thought we were going to get much of a good story that sticks well together.



The film was directed by Steven Quale who recently has worked on Final Destination 5 back in 2011. As I recall his efforts on Final Destination 5 weren't actually that bad, though the film wasn't anything special. The same can easily be said for this film. I generally felt that the film in terms of the twisters and tornadoes rolling through actually looked great. At no time did I ever feel that the CG looked awful or cheap like a direct to video film. There is actually even a wonderfully done scene towards the end of the film that is a must to see. Of course since I will not spoil the movie in this review, I will not be talking about that scene in depth, but believe me when I say it was amazing. The acting is simply generic at best. Filled with a bunch of no names for the most part besides bigger actors like Matt Walsh and Sarah Wayne Callies the acting isn't anything special, which was to be expected. Quale delivers a nicely shot film that is very exciting at times and the film moves by nicely and quickly without much down time.



Brian Tyler composed the score for this and also worked with Steven Quale on Final Destination 5, and also composed the score for Iron Man 3 last year. While I am a big fan of scores, this film really didn't live up to expectations since Tyler is such a masterful composer. There are flashes of greatness during the film from Tyler, but it fades quickly. So, overall he gets a good effort rating for this film.



Overall, if you are looking for a fun film that is filled with some pretty bad writing and clichés all over the place, then this a must see for sure. The action scenes are intense and are shot perfectly, so there is an upside to this film. If this sort of film makes you angry because of the stupid characters, then it is best to stay away from this one. I know I enjoyed the film, and I will assume most of the audience will as well.



6/10