Director: Steven Quale
Cast: Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh
Release Date: Own it today on Blu-Ray Combo Pack, DVD & Digital HD
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Film Rating: 6.5/10
Disc Rating: 8/10
Synopsis:
In the span of just a few hours, the city of Silverton is ravaged by an unprecedented onslaught of the most furious twisters they’ve ever seen. The entire town is at the mercy of the erratic and deadly cyclones, even as storm trackers predict the worst is yet to come. Most people seek shelter, while others run toward the vortex, testing how far a storm chaser will go for that once-in-a-lifetime shot.
Told through the eyes and lenses of professional storm chasers, thrill-seeking amateurs, and courageous townspeople, “Into the Storm” throws you directly into the eye of the storm to experience Mother Nature at her most extreme.
‘Into The Storm’ follows a group of professional storm chasers who after missing the last storm they were after, head to the town of Silverton in the hopes of catching a lucky break after their data specialist insists it will be the most likely location for an incoming tornado. It also follows a number of the residents of the town as this team and the locals’ paths collide and they must band together to survive (and hopefully get some impressive footage) being inside of one incredibly large storm. The general story is basic and the characters have some personality and depth, but make no mistake that ‘Into the Storm’ is in every way a film about these insane elements of Mother Nature and in that respect it does deliver.
Steven Quale (Final Destination 5) directs ‘Into the Storm’ and does a pretty great job handling the many degrees of capturing the mood and intensity of being inside of such an event. The cast includes a number of talented and at least a few fairly well known individuals, including the likes of Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson’s ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy), Sarah Wayne Callies (of ‘Prison Break’ and ‘The Walking Dead’) as well as a number of others (many not so well known) all of whom provide mostly capable and solid performances in each of their respective roles; although it’s definitely the storms that will be the main attraction for most viewers in this film and not the cast.
While it’s certainly not going to be an Oscar Contender for Best Picture and doesn’t deliver too much in the way of originality story wise, it really isn’t a film you go into looking for detailed story with elegant dialogue and plot twists. This is a film that promises an inside look into an incredible occurrence of Mother Nature as a town’s inhabitants and a storm hunting crew are thrown front and center into the heart of a batch of powerful tornados. Taking this fact into account, ‘Into the Storm’ really does deliver, providing a visually and aurally impressive ride that’s certainly a good bit of fun. If you’re looking for an entertaining and often suspenseful film of this sort without having to concentrate and decipher too much, then ‘Into the Storm’ is definitely one to check out for a relaxing and enjoyable night’s viewing.
VIDEO:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘Into the Storm’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing a 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio, although the case states it as containing a 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio which is incorrect. Nonetheless the video presentation looks pretty solid as a whole. Considering the often handheld filming style utilized here and the constant movement and just overall visual insanity, the video presentation holds up surprisingly well with only very minimal instances of unintentional pixilation or video noise present. This high definition video presentation looks pretty exceptional and should deliver a more than pleasing viewing experience for both those far pickier on the quality, as well as the casual viewer.
AUDIO:
The Blu-Ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This lossless multichannel soundtrack is without question the most notable aspect of this release. During the numerous storm sequences (and even other simpler instances of weather including rain, etc) it throws itself throughout all five available channels without any trepidation and it’s rare to find a soundtrack that has so many continually hard hitting elements being pounded into all of the available channels simultaneously in addition to going full force with the subwoofer. Even throughout the insanity of these moments, the dialogue is never in anyway rendered inaudible. This DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack is easily one of the fiercest 5.1 channel soundtracks I’ve had the pleasure to experience so far this year and it should leave the fellow audiophiles drooling as well.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
In the way of extras, the Blu-Ray release of ‘Into the Storm’ includes three Behind The Scenes Featurette’s: ‘Into the Storm: Tornado Files’; ‘Titus: The Ultimate Storm Chasing Vehicle’ and ‘Fake Storms: Real Conditions’ which range between 5 and 11 minutes each and take a look at everything from elements of real life storm chasing to what was required during production in order to make the film’s events appear as realistic as possible.
*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.