Into the Storm (2014)
When I first saw the trailers for Into the Storm back in 2014, I was far from impressed. I thought to myself, I bet that's just a CGI FX show reel with some second-rate plot tacked on as an afterthought. So, I elected not to see the movie upon release and forgot about it. The other night I was in the mood for some easy entertainment. Nothing heavy, just something that would provide an amusing diversion for an hour and a half or so. I wasn't setting the bar particularly high. Then I remembered Into the Storm and as I’ve always had a weakness for the Disaster Movie genre, I thought to myself, that may do the trick. Sadly, it didn't. This is far from a dumb but fun, popcorn movie like San Andreas. Into the Storm is an insultingly stupid piece of cinema that left me feeling angry and slightly unclean due to watching something so crass.
Usually I won't take the bait and allow my buttons to be pushed when confronted by such contrived film making. However, Into the Storm actually succeeded in making me angry. It is appallingly written, with a paper-thin plot, filled with the most singularly tedious stereotypes and clichés. There's a Father estranged from his sons, a Mother who may be putting her work before her daughter and a documentary film maker who'll do anything to get the scoop, yet ultimately sacrifices himself to save the day. Then we have a wealth of teenagers designed to represent all the various different subsets of youth culture. The film also includes a quota of "Red Shirts" characters that conveniently die at strategic points in the narrative. However, the jewel in the crown of Into the Storm has to be the pair of comedy Redknecks. They're excruciatingly embarrassing to watch.
What is so offensive about this movie is that fact that it’s obviously the product of a committee meeting, where a bunch of suits had a brainstorming session. Such people are devoid of any artistic creativity or personal integrity and to them film making is just a process. A means to an end, devoid of anything else other than a desire to make money. They have nothing but contempt for their audience, the same way drug dealers has nothing but loathing for their customers. Forget the apocryphal notion of a film being so bad, it’s good. Into the Storm is just an awful, cynical, crass piece of film making. Utterly hollow, soulless and devoid of any joy. Do not dignify this cinematic insult with either your time or money.
