Supercell: Sturmjäger

Well, I have to say that I was expecting a tad more from this 2023 disaster movie titled "Supercell", especially since it was a brand new movie and having a cast ensemble with some fairly established names on it.

All I knew about "Supercell", when I sat down to watch it was that it was about what the title of movie indicates. So I figured that chances were that it would be a good movie at least. So of course I opted to watch what director Herbert James Winterstern had to offer.

Writers and Anna Elizabeth James and Herbert James Winterstern delivered a watchable enough script for the movie. However, I have to say that it was a fairly generic plot, and in terms of excitement and thrills, then "Supercell" just didn't have what it took. It might have huffed and puffed, but it was not with much force.

And I am rather surprised at how generic and nondescript "Supercell" turned out to be, especially with the likes of Skeet Ulrich, Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche on the cast list. The acting performances in the movie were fair enough, but the character gallery was somewhat monotonous, and I didn't really care if something were to befell the characters or not.

Visually then "Supercell" was okay. The special effects were bland actually, and I wasn't impressed.

If you enjoy movies about tornadoes, then the 1996 movie "Twister" is still the best choice.

My rating of "Supercell" lands on a four out of ten stars.

There's not really much to it but high school melodrama.

Most of the time I can't hear what the kid's saying and the rest of the time it's obnoxious characters yelling at each other while making stupid decisions and pointless statements.

None of the characters are remotely likable and they all drift from scene to scene without any momentum or clear plot development.

Some of the green screen effects are very poor, and in one particular scene you can see a bank of star shaped LED light strips which are supposed to be lightning and it's reflecting off every object in the scene to the point of distraction.

It's amateurish through and through.

Give it a miss, go watch some 4k Tornado videos on YouTube.

This was Anne Heche's last film before her tragic death in a car accident, so what a great pity for her it couldn't have been better.

Alec Baldwin plays Alec Baldwin, what happened to him - he used to be such a Leading Man, think Hunt for Red October and even 3rd Rock from the Sun and ... this. I guess he needs to feed all those kids that he can't seem to stop producing. Someone should tell him about birth control.

However, the guy who played the kid was the absolute worst thing about this movie. Supposedly highly intelligent, he just looked and acted like a dumb idiot all the way through. Such bad casting.

I liked Skeet Ulrich though even though I hardly recognised him.

If after seeing the poster and reading the synopsis you thought that this was probably a (very) low budget version of Twister, you were right. It's sufficient if you must kill some time and there's nothing else at hand, but you certainly won't choose it for a re-watch any time soon. The story is thinner than thin, the acting is mediocre if I want to be generous, the special effects are hardly there. The script is not annoyingly bad, mostly because it's a soulless copy of other similar movies. Not much to remember, it's a movie as light as a feather. One dimensional characters do exactly what you expect them to do, and then the movie ends.

Disclosing up front, I've been storm chasing for about 10 years, so this is my perspective.

The film is not perfect by any stretch. It has some actual, authentic storm footage, but it's mixed in with low quality effects and blurry scenes. Many shots are filmed in wide angle and the perspective is all distorted. (Sorry, the photographer in me was cringing)

I digress. The plot had moments of suspense and drama, but it was way too jumpy. Plenty of Easter eggs for storm chasers, but a lot of that will go over the head of the casual viewer.

It would have been nice if they took a little bit of time of clearly outline what a "supercell" actually is. Sure, I know what one is, but it would help the viewer understand better. You see lots of radar clips, but with little to no explanation at all. Dramatic music is also thrown in all over, but it doesn't always fit with the flow of the movie.

Unfortunately, there were also many errors, in terms of meteorology, storm evolution/continuity and with geography. At one point, there are interstate signs visible from the wrong state. Unless you're a storm chaser or travel often across the Plains, it's really hard to follow where they are and what they are talking about much of the time.

Overall, it seems best watched in a group. Go into it accepting that it's not a perfect cinematic masterpiece. It's dramatized for Hollywood. If you can look past some of the flaws, you will probably enjoy it. If you're expecting an award winning film with epic tornado footage, then you'll be disappointed.

I give it a 5/10, trying to not let the storm chaser in me skew my perspective.