Into The Storm

Out of Hollywood these days come rom-coms, superheroes and effect movies. The latter appears to be in the ascendancy to the detriment of decent scripts. CGI is an art form which is constantly evolving while writers - good ones - find the respect they deserve in television series.

Here we have Twister 2: The Unofficial Remake, with structural damage at levels of awesome overload and winds that lift jumbo jets off the runway. The effects, my dear, will blow your mind and everything else still standing.

Sadly the visual dexterity of these techno magicians needs a storyline to follow and that's where this modern disaster movie falls into a pit of corn syrup.

There's a group of documentary makers chasing tornadoes, led by an obsessive baldy who only cares about finding the perfect storm and filming the hell out of it. Also on board is a weather girl (the wonderful Sarah Wayne Callies from Prison Break and The Walking Dead) who looks worried in an interesting way.

The second plot strand involves an authoritarian single dad and his two sons (sibling rivalry? you bettya!) who come together at the height of the twister attack on their small American town.

Who's going to survive? Who's going to say, "I love you," before being overwhelmed? Will the dad and the weather lady get it together? Will the impossibly nice son save his one true love in the flooded mill before the storm kills them both?

Naturally there is no character development, only an act of God, or whatever insurance companies use as an excuse when the claims come in. One thing's for certain. The Big Guy is furious this time and His wrath makes for gripping cinema.

Pity about the people.