Tornado! came out a few days before the more famous Twister, but has almost the same concept behind it. Scientists are trying to put an instrument in the path of a tornado. There are storm chases, a rival meteorologist, a love interest, and surviving a tornado by tying themselves down to an object on the ground. The plots are not absolutely identical, the love interest is an accountant, nicknamed The Terminator, who was sent from Washington to kill the project, the rival meteorologist eventually helps the hero of the piece, and the effects are minimal; however, as I watched I kept wondering if writers have all run out of new ideas or if cross-pollination existed between the two movie productions. Global warming is dragged in as an excuse to explain the desire to cut the project's funding. I think the plot would have been better if it would have stuck to just a simple budget cutting and not tried to piggy-back environmentalism onto it. There are a lot of Senators and Congressmen who come from tornado prone areas and a simple budget cut would be a much better argument. The oddest part of the movie has the characters tied down to the instrument pack when the tornado hits and then running to the storm cellar while they are in the eye of the tornado. The eye of the tornado is dead calm and lasts, at least, five minutes during which the grandfather tries to prevent the rock-steady data package from blowing away. Remember, the data package is the same object that kept three people from blowing away when the storm first hit. The acting is alright, though not terrific, and it is an adequate movie to watch.
Tornado!
(1996 TV Movie)
Scientists attempt to convince Washington auditor to continue funding for their tornado research
25 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers