• Release year: 2025
• Director: John Maclean.
• Producers: Leonora Darby, James Harris, and Mark Lane.
• Screenplay by: John Maclean.
• Cinematography by: Robbie Ryan.

Shotgun Commentary: thrilling prey film with a fantastic cast and an engrossing narrative.

Review

Tornado is named after its protagonist, Tornado (Kôki), the daughter of a samurai puppeteer. Now, your reaction to the previous sentence is already telling of whether you’ll enjoy this feature or not. If your reaction was great interest with a tinge of excitement, you will very likely love this. If it wasn’t… you might want to keep reading to decide.

Fun and deadly

The story begins with Tornado and a small child running away from a group of unsavoury-looking men. She seeks refuge in a manor in the middle of nowhere, prompting her trackers to enter the property and unceremoniously look for her while destroying everything on their way. Dramatic as this first sequence might seem, you can soon determine this will be a rather light watch, despite the looming sense of tragedy and doom that stays with you throughout the experience.

The first thing that tips you is Tim Roth’s character, Sugarman. He is the leader of the criminal gang and slashes the throat of one of his own for no apparent reason in his first ten seconds of screen time. This ridiculous “I’m the evil guy” move hints you to not take the film too seriously. The most similar comparison would be thrillers like The Hateful Eight (2015), packed with tension and catastrophe, but with enough dark humour and ridiculous situations to make the final project enjoyable instead of merely stressful.

The right tools

Kôki brings Tornado to life with a passionate performance that lets you in on everything that the character is, thinks, and wants to be. Far from the perfect hero, Tornado is complex and deeply flawed. Like most people her age, sometimes she loses sight of the big picture, leading her to make rash, morally-dubious decisions she comes to regret. In that sense, Tornado could be considered a violent coming-of-age story, as Tornado learns what it is to be an adult the hard way, while fighting off a deadly crew.

As for the bad guys, they would be terrifying if they weren’t so comedic. Their ignorance matches their ruthlessness, a balance that makes them just dangerous enough to be taken seriously, but not so much that they become uncomfortable to watch. Sadly, there is one tiny flaw in the creation of this crew, and that is Little Sugar (Jack Lowden).

The setback and the win

As you might have guessed by his name, he is Roth’s character’s son, arguably the smartest of the bunch. He is constantly outsmarting good and bad guys alike by keeping his scheme a few steps ahead of everyone else’s, a strategy that is torn down in a few seconds out of nowhere, leading to one of the most stupid fates possible. This unravelling makes no sense if one considers everything one knows about Little Sugar. However, there is the possibility to grasp at straws in order for it to make sense so, overall, it is not a big issue at all.

Despite his short appearance, Fujin (Takehiro Hira) leaves a mark. He is Tornado’s father, a samurai puppeteer with patience for days and outfits for runways. His aesthetically-pleasing mindset and wardrobe make him instantly likeable and the more you learn from him, the more you can’t help but love him. Hira looks really comfortable playing this role, and that comfort translates into a great viewing experience that makes flashbacks look like a great idea even for flashback-hating heathens like yours truly.

All in all, Tornado is a wonderful thriller that offers the perfect combination of tension and fun, with just enough action to keep you stressed and enough twists to keep you guessing. If you happen to be in Glasgow, you can watch this film now as it is part of the Glasgow Film Festival programme.

Advice to take from this movie:

• If you have a bunch of money you don’t want, and know a bunch of people who might need it, disposing of it might not be the best move?
• Tell people what they are up against if you expect them to help you efficiently.
• If you are hiding, it is better to stay in your hiding spot for too long of a time than too short.

What’s your take? Have you watched Tornado? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀