Tornado
(U)- Release Date: 19th April 2007 (Showtimes)
- Language: English
- Running Time: 92 mins
- Genre: Drama
- Director: Andreas Linke
- Cast: Lisa Martinek, Mina Tander, Sascha Gopel, Matthias Koeberlin, Martin Lindow. (Full Cast)
- Local Distributor: United International Pictures
Berlin is struck by an unusual series of storms and hail stones. In the middle of this unusual phenomenon is a meteorologist named John who has recently returned from studying tornadoes in Oklahoma, in the United States. He returns home to find his ex-girlfriend, a doctor named Eva, going out with his best friend, Bruno, also a meteorologist. Bruno has taken his place as his father's assistant. John has a knack for weather prediction and he learns that a tornado is about to hit Berlin.Together with Eva, he must convince his father to sound the warning for the people of Berlin to stay clear of the path of the oncoming tornado.
Latest Review
Worst movie of the year
What I really hated: loves scenes in the midst of tornado
I love to watch tornado or twisters movies and documentary. But this is the worst film that ever filmed. The tornados are too "UNREAL" and illogically placed. Stories seems to go by piece by piece, a bit here and there. It's better to watch the documentary than to waste time and money on this "no sense" movie.
Story: 
Acting:
Direction:
Visuals: 
Overall:
Worst movie of the year
What I really hated: loves scenes in the midst of tornado
I love to watch tornado or twisters movies and documentary. But this is the worst film that ever filmed. The tornados are too "UNREAL" and illogically placed. Stories seems to go by piece by piece, a bit here and there. It's better to watch the documentary than to waste time and money on this "no sense" movie.
Story:
Acting:
Direction:
Visuals:
Overall:
To begin with, the original movie, which is in German, has been given unnecessary voice-overs in English. The resultant language is unnatural and erratic, with accents varying between the characters. Also, the voice-overs in some parts of the movie do not seem to correspond with the actors and their dialogues. The whole effect is both distracting as well as disastrous as it is hard to tear yourself away from the fact that sometimes what the actors are saying sound completely ludicrous.
Then, there's the plot and the acting. While Helen Hunt did a pretty convincing job in "Twister", the super blonde Matthias Koeberlin playing the part of the hero, Jan Berger, can barely fill the shoes he has been cast for. Perhaps he is only doing the best that he can with the limited plot, but it is extremely hard to believe that there is any genuine sense of urgency in the tornado warnings he issues. He paces about like a man on a mission in one scene, and then in the next scene, he takes to professing his undying love for his best friend, Bruno's (the sulky looking Sascha Gopel) sweetheart, Eva (the beautiful Mina Tander, who effectively pouts and purses her luscious lips throughout the movie).
It doesn't help that some of the main characters are underdeveloped i.e. Mr Berger (Rudolf Kawolski), Jan's father who furrows his brows and alternates between looking furious, then hurt, then remorseful but doesn't have much to say throughout. Additionally, all the sub-plots involving the ancillary characters are tiresome and only serve to detract from the main theme.
Nevertheless, the scenes which involve the actual tornadoes, are pretty exciting, as the pace picks up and tension mounts. The sepia tones used to depict the tornadoes effectively enhance the gloomy feel. One of the best scenes involves Jan and Eva clinging on to the grilles in a drain pipe, while a tornado threatens to blow them away. It looked so cool, I wanted to be in that scene myself!
Overall, however, the whole story leaves much to be desired. The plot is choppy and moves all over the place, and I am not sure if it is the film editing itself or our Malaysian censors, but so many loose ends have not been tied up. In the end, you cannot help but feel disappointed for what could have been.
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