"Into the Storm" - complete with flying cow

I’ll start by saying that I decided to forget everything I’d ever learned or seen while chasing storms in the USA with the Netweather Tours over the past 5 years and treat “Into The Storm” as entertainment and not a documentary.

After all, a true to life storm chase movie would have followed Pete Moore (played by Matt Walsh) for hundreds of miles of interstate, interrupted by visits to Applebees, Chili’s and various Mom & Pop diners.  And once the weather kicked off, the chaser convergence of everyone from documentary makers, scientists, tours and locals would have shown just how big and enjoyable real storm chasing can be - even the down days are usally entertaining and we're not all reliant on bagging that 'must have' centre of the storm video clip.

That said, some elements were true to life, the use of radar and satellite in the field, the NWS storm updates and constant checking of data on the road are all familiar to the storm chasing community – and absolutely vital if you want to safely chase - and the frustration of missing a storm that you knew was possible in preference of another risk area.  It happens to everyone, the trick is to make sure it doesn't happen for a complete season as Pete Moore found out.  There's also some nods to reality in the graduation scene, an echo of the Joplin tornado, and some other similarities in elements of other storms as the monster 2 mile wide twister bears down on town.

Back to the film, and the first person camera work takes a little getting used to, though the huge screen in the Empire Impact cinema might have exaggerated it a bit, but it’s a tried and tested formula now and film makers keep returning to it to help us engage with the characters and quickly share some background.  At first it distracted from the story line, but as the interlinked strands of character backstories are thankfully easy to follow it’s not hard to keep up.

Two single parents, an overworked widowed dad hiding in his work as Deputy Head of Silverton High, a troubled teenager with a crush, an over confident, cocky younger brother, and a working single mum and PhD Meteorologist, who has spent 3 months on the road trying to guide Pete Moore and his Titus storm chasing vehicle into the middle of a tornado with no success.  Let's not forget the dynamic duo Donk & Reevis  who play the comic relief as the local wannabe You Tube millionaires.

The background dealt with, the film quickly goes from angst, unrequited crushes and frustration at lack of footage shot through the season to being in the centre of a massive storm system heading straight for the town of Silverton, The Titus storm chase team are the only chasers nearby and immediately set off to get the shot of a lifetime.

At this point the CGI effects become the star, along with the amazing sound in the Impact cinema as tornadoes drop all around Silverton, and most of the main characters almost literally collide in the middle of town.  As an homage to Twister, a model cow is torn from a rooftop and while no one actually said ‘Flying cow’ it was nice to see.

From this point it really is a case of suspend belief and enjoy the ride, the story line tumbles along at a frenetic pace, along with the storms and effects.

I’m not going to ruin it by sharing the complete story line and how it all ends, but the film flew by for me, which is always a good sign, but then I’m a sucker for effects and along with the rest of the audience laughed at the more comedic moments.  I have to say that the effects team and set builders deserve a special mention, the attention to detail and how they made mid summer near Detroit look like a storm hit central plains town really lift the movie above the ordinary.

It’s not fingernail digging suspense, the story isn’t quite compelling enough on its own, and the characters can be a little stilted – but rolled up into close on an hour and a half of non-stop action and entertainment "Into The Storm" has got more than enough going for it to make it well worth a watch.