Armitage's 'Into the Storm' Short Review after London Previews (10/07/2014)

It appears that this blog is turning into one exclusively dedicated to the wonderful British actor Richard Armitage. His latest film, the US-made Into the Storm, was previewed at the Warner Brothers Preview Theatres in Holborn, London. With the help and generosity of some amazing people, I managed to get a seat and see the film long before it would hit the theatres here.

Into the Storm is yet another US tornado/disaster film. In all honesty, I had no great expectations of it. I have always been fascinated by storms and extreme weather phenomena in general, but what is there left to show on screen concerning these? Ok, let's start with the negative aspects, all in my humble view. It doesn't bring anything shockingly new, I had a constant feeling of deja-vu. The plot is developed on some basic human emotions and that is no plus in my opinion. It's normal for parents to risk their lives for their children, is it not? Sadly, the plot is weak and full of clichés. Perhaps some other viewers will find it more exciting.

Nevertheless, there are good parts about Into the Storm and the whole experience is quite immersive, as I couldn't shake it off not even hours after the viewing.

The visual effects are of the highest quality, a lot better than I expected. The film heavily relies on these and there is no moment of "hey, that looks so artificial...". None at all (Still, I have something to criticise here, sadly: winds strong enough to break down walls and entire buildings don't pose any difficulties to humans walking around? There is no way people could still be standing in such wind).

The music is good, very good.

As desired, the film has an authenticity feel - there's footage from various characters involved, separate bits that come together to create the story, a story which includes busy parents, horny teenagers, terribilistic adventurers.

The best, as expected, is Richard Armitage's presence. The suit may not fit him as perfect as usual, but

who still cares about that when the storm eventually makes it all wet? (yes, all of it)

Also, Richard has something really strange about him - you guessed it, it's the American accent he tries to fake. If you've watched him in as many productions as I did, you will feel it's kind of awkward. This is nothing to say that he's not doing his part well, because he surely is! At first, his character (Gary Morris) is an ever-busy, hard-to-talk-to father and teacher. Then, he gets to turn into a hero (there is one cute scene with Richard and a dog) and goes to the rescue, defying the infernal weather. In the end, he becomes the sweet Richard we know - the last scene with him is adorable.

This is why I noted so far concerning the good and the bad about Into the Storm, which will have its UK première on August 22. Go see it - for RA, for the visual effects, for the thrill, for the humorous bits in it. I can't predict how the film will do in theatres, but it seems it doesn't even matter to most, because Richard Armitage is now covered with glory thanks to his superb 5-star performance in The Crucible at The Old Vic theatre!