Tornades sur New York

Possibly (one of) the worst TV films ever.

A huge atmospheric problem centred over the US, as usual, has a grudge against New York and its inhabitants. Apparently global warming is here to bite Americans in the ass.

Besides the annoying TV newslady commentating throughout the movie, far harder to watch is the very crappy special fx. The acting is cringeworthy, but this isn't to say that the actors can't act. Well, they can't in this one, but I think that has more to do with the ridiculous dialogue and poor directing.

Actually, this movie has really got me bored. I may have finished watching it, but I couldn't bother to carry on writing about it. DON'T BOTHER WITH THIS ONE!!!

A very predictable TV movie dealing with a disaster striking a leading US city. This time it's New York and electrically-charged super-tornadoes are to blame, leading to much destruction and chaos, albeit on a super-low B-movie budget.

It's fair to say that NYC: TORNADO TERROR offers nothing that hasn't been done before, and better. The special effects are dodgy, the characters are cardboard and the acting wooden. There isn't even a Michael Ironside or Lance Henriksen hanging around to bring a certain quality of gruff gravitas to the proceedings.

And yet, and yet, this isn't the worst I've seen. It's better than the same director's METEOR STORM, for instance. It helps that there are some unintentionally funny scenes, like when the group of survivors are menaced by a ball of lightning INSIDE a tower block. The silly special effects are easy to laugh at, as are the attempts to build a sense of overwrought menace. NYC: TORNADO TERROR is certainly a wretched production but one that provides a few laughs if you're in the right mood.

The film has brief moments of attention grab like the disaster sequences, other than that you start to lose your interest in the film after those parts are done. The movie suffers from a slow pace and a plot that is dull.

NYC: Tornado Terror is terrible, I recommend you only watch the film if your expectations are low or if you're watching only for the action.

de Boer stars as a meteorologist who witnesses something unbelievable and (no surprise, since she's the lead) is the only one who can provide an answer as to what's going on. She can even provide a solution to the problem, but (big surprise here) the mayor thinks she's a fruitcake and there's no real threat to the city.

Usually someone like de Boer is what attracts me to a film like this, as I liked her when she co-starred in the final years of "Star Trek: DS9." But I'm a weather freak when it comes to tornadoes and I usually watch whatever film comes on and I see it in the guide. I apologize for the sarcasm as far as "no surprise...big surprise," but it seems like film writers and directors can't seem to get your attention unless it happens in a city like New York City. About the only thing that I find real is the attitude of the mayor and I found myself being reminded of the mayor of New York in "Ghostbusters." I guess that's why they need to make this sort of thing happen in NYC, as anyone in the central part of the US, who live with tornadoes every summer, realize the threat, but you need millions and millions of people in a centralized area to not take cover when something like this would happen.

There's no way I could give a movie like this anything above two stars. It ranks right up there with the movie I saw about volcanoes in the Big Apple last year!

I like disaster movies. I even like the bad ones. But this - this goes beyond bad into utterly dire.

The characters are walking, talking clichés straight out of better disasters movies. Every single plot point is signposted ages before it arrives, and every situation is utterly predictable.

The writing and directing between them manage to suck all tension and excitement out of the story. The writing is obvious - and dull - and there is no build-up of tension at all. This is quite a talent. This writer has made a tornado hitting New York mind-numbingly dull. And the direction is of the 'point, shoot, move on to the next shot' variety.

As for the effects - c'mon guys, you've been doing special effects for nearly 100 years now - you can do better than this! Don't watch this. ever. It's two hours of your life you'll never get back and you'll regret it.