Tornadoes have scant respect for reputations. In Steven Quale’s idiotic disaster movie, they come lolloping across the midwest, one after another, scattering meteorologists and meatheads, teenage sweethearts and documentary filmmakers alike. The weather is flipping jumbo jets like ninepins, spinning school buses like tops. The one thing it can’t ruffle, apparently, is Richard Armitage’s foursquare teacher, who toils through the elements to save his son from a flooded industrial park. All around, meanwhile, the film’s bullish special effects are wreaking havoc with the narrative.
Into the Storm sets forth as a found-footage thriller before losing its thread and then doubling back on itself in abject disarray. “Are you having fun yet?” shouts a gung-ho cameraman as the first twister rolls in. This is going to get worse before it gets better.
