Opération tornades

This is one of the better made-for-TV tornado movies I have seen. Like most of these movies, they save all the tornado action for the last part of the movie. This movie had a pretty decent plot, and some known actors. Sadly, like all if not most tornado movies, the producers did not get their tornado and weather facts right. The part where they give a tornado warning, no one heads for shelter. When a tornado warning is issued it means that a tornado or funnel cloud has been witnessed by a person, or detected on radar and the people in the path of the storm should seek shelter IMMEDIATELY. The movie takes place in Oklahoma, which is in the heart of tornado alley, and the people of the town did not take any sort of action when the warning was issued.

Not a bad movie, I would watch it again.

The special effects, the acting, and the script were so bad that at times I couldn't figure out if this movie was a drama or just a bad comedy. The mayor was especially awful.

The special effects were pretty lousy, too. In one scene, the good guys are driving with the mayor following, yelling through her bullhorn that everything's alright. She then gets swept away. But a few moments later, down the same road, the tornado is seen about a mile away off in the field.

I'm sorry, but I was expecting a thriller and got a lame, unbelievable sci-fi pseudocomedy.

This movie was a complete and total embarrassment. I couldn't believe how

cheap and awful it was. I mean, just ridiculous. Why would PAX bother to make a movie that's so horrific and embarrassing when they could probably get the

same ratings airing their reruns of Touched by an Angel and Diagnosis Murder

instead? If anyone sees this, the film's representation of a "parade" (this small town's annual celebration/parade are endangered by an approaching tornado)

is truly pathetic. It's one of those movie parades where all you seem to see is the trail end of it -- in one shot they show one lone clown walking along as if that constitutes a parade. And they have about 10 extras watching the parade as if that's the entire town.

Joan Van Ark tries hard, but she clearly received very poor direction. Her comic take on her drawling character just doesn't fit with the rest of the movie, which takes itself fairly seriously. This movie to me is the nadir of what the

once-awesome TV-movie has degenerated into. Look what the genre that gave

us The Burning Bed and Brian's Song has ultimately become... a cheap way for

a cheap network like PAX to fill airtime. Depressing.

I read one comment about this movie and...

The poster is right about ONE thing. Joan van Ark act is excessive, thus not believable enough.

But if you know America - and I mean REALLY KNOW - then you must have come across town mayors that really behave quite similarly to what she portrays. If you know America, you know that in some towns/areas/professions one is not allowed free speech, and people like van Ark's character really use their powers to silence people or news.

Special effects wise, this movie is quite good, though it is obvious that its budget was very small. Tornadoes are shown with solid, firm, believable special effects.

The characters are solid (exception made of van Ark's and perhaps of the Storm Chasers leader) and are engaged in real world problems.

Plot is, perhaps, the main problem. It's as if this movie was made by a group of scientists or storm chasers who vowed to put on screen their troubles related to: - chasing and predicting tornadoes - and, probably, the funds for their activities.

It is a VERY SIMPLE plot.

And because of this, it is predictable AND believable at the same time. Some people watched this as if they were watching a Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers big episode with a more intimate, behind-the-camera closer look at the main players.

Acting is...a mix.

Gerald McRaney is OK, quite solid in his portrayal of a discredited scientist.

Steve Braun is a good surprise. A timid, sensitive and wise young scientist/student. Good acting.

Thea Gil swings back and forth between convincing and non-committed acting. Good actors are known to be convincing throughout the repertoire or their characters - and that's what separates them from the average actors/actresses.

David Millbern's act was not convincing, hesitant, foolish at times. I have seen better from him, I'm sure.

The rest of the cast is good enough, though Joan van Ark's actions seem exaggerated and unbelievable.

In terms of the science behind it, this movie is one of the few that portrays the "attack" of tornadoes as they really are - short, loud and violent. The physical content (cloud formation, wind speeds, debris hurling, sky colors, pressure gradients, etc) is pretty much spot on.

Is there something that differentiates this movie from others of similar vein? Yes. Simple, dry and direct plot and the crude atmosphere of small towns and tornado attacks.

It could have been better, sure. But the striking thing is, it could have been MUCH, MUCH WORSE.

This movie was so bad, I loved it! It's one of those movies that you know is going to be just awful, yet somehow you can't bring yourself to change the channel. So you resolve yourself to see it to the end just to see if it's going to really get as bad as you think it's going to be. And your prayers are answered by Joan Van Ark in snakeskin pants, fringe suede jacket and cowboy hat with an awful accent playing the crazy mayor of the town that's going to get hit by the F5 tornado, who's in denial about it really happening. (Much like the viewers of this movie are in denial about what they are watching!) Gerald McRaney and Thea Gill are good actors who stand no chance against this really horrible, painful script. But they give it full effort and bless them for trying! My only real disappointment with this was that when the F5 did hit, it was entirely anti-climatic. If you delight in awful, made for TV movies, this movie is a must see!