Into the Storm opens with a town called Silverton waking up to a quiet morning. By afternoon, the sky is full of tornados. The film follows a team of storm chasers led by Pete Moore, played by Matt Walsh, and Gary Fuller, a widowed father played by Richard Armitage, whose son Donnie goes missing after the twisters hit.
Trailer, via Warner On Demand.
Pete and Gary
Walsh plays Pete as a veteran storm chaser whose team is chasing a record. He wants the shot that will define his career. Armitage plays Gary as a man trying to save his son from a collapsed paper mill. The two men move through the film together, though their motives rarely align.
The Tornado Chain
The film strings together several tornados over a few hours. Each one destroys a different part of Silverton. A school gets hit first. Then a paper mill. Then a neighborhood and a car lot. The storm chasers keep moving toward each new funnel, while Gary keeps moving toward his son.
Allison and the Chasers
Sarah Wayne Callies plays Allison Stone, the meteorologist on Pete’s team. She is frustrated with Pete’s focus on data over safety. The tension grows after a cameraman named Jacob is killed by a firenado, which turns a storm into flame.
Jacob’s Death and Its Cost
Jacob’s death strains the team. Pete’s concern for data over safety becomes the central problem. Daryl, another cameraman, admits he pushed Jacob into filming the firenado, which leads to his death. That admission is the clearest moment of honesty in a film full of chaos.
Donk and the Daredevils
Kyle Davis plays Donk, a reckless daredevil who records his own stunts. His friend Reevis, played by Jon Reep, records those stunts. Their scenes are meant to add texture to the disaster, but they mostly just slow the film down.
The Numbers
- Director: Steven Quale
- Writer: John Swetnam
- Lead actors: Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Arlen Escarpeta
- Runtime: 89 minutes
- Budget: $50 million
- Gross: $161.5 million
- Critical score: 4.4/10
What Works
The special effects are the strongest part of Into the Storm. The tornados look real, and the destruction reads as sudden and complete. The film knows how to stage a disaster.
What Does Not Work
The script asks audiences to care about a storm chase that feels like a job and a father’s search that feels like a duty. It does not ask audiences to feel either. The film spends too much time on its own spectacle and too little time on the people inside it.
A Mixed Record
The film grossed $161.5 million against a $50 million budget, which is a solid return. But the reviews were mixed, and the criticism centered on the script and the casting.
The special effects carry the film. The rest of it does not.
Into the Storm is a disaster film that knows how to show the disaster and forgets why anyone cares about the people running from it.
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