In theaters May 30, 2025, from IFC Films, Tornado is a slow-burn revenge Thriller that marks the return of Director John Maclean (Slow West 2015) with his sophomore feature. Set against the eerie stillness of the English countryside, the film follows a Japanese puppeteer whose daughter becomes entangled with a violent crime syndicate led by the enigmatic Sugarman and his volatile son, Little Sugar. Kōki (Ox-Head Village 2022, Touch 2024) anchors the film with a quietly intense performance as the cunning Tornado, plotting her revenge against the gang responsible for her family’s ruin, led by a chillingly understated Tim Roth (The Hateful Eight 2015, Resurrection 2022) as the ruthless Sugarman.
While Tornado boasts a distinctive setting and carefully crafted tension among its characters, its sluggish pace ultimately undermines the experience, making Tornado feel more muted than memorable. Tim Roth strives to inject complexity and depth into his character, but the script offers him little room to fully develop, leaving his performance restrained despite his best efforts. In contrast, Kōki offers a nuanced performance that captures the character’s simmering determination and emotional complexity, effectively conveying the unique insecurity of her mixed identity alongside the adolescent desire to fit in.
The criminal gang in Tornado is exceptionally ruthless; their violence is grounded, sudden, and often disturbing, underscoring the film’s grim tone and elevating the stakes of Tornado’s slow-burning quest for revenge. Rather than leaning into stylized villainy, the film opts for a stark depiction of cruelty. This brutal realism pays off in the final fifteen minutes, as Tornado finally seizes her chance to strike back. The climax delivers a visceral catharsis, complete with a few cringe-inducing moments of gore that feel all the more satisfying given the audience’s well-earned hatred of the film’s villains.
There is little in Tornado that feels truly fresh, which is part of why the experience can come off as dull. The core narrative—avenging a dead parent—is a well-worn trope, and while that’s not inherently a flaw, the film struggles to bring a new perspective or emotional depth to it. Setting the story in 1700s England and introducing a samurai-influenced protagonist suggests a bold, genre-blending premise with potential.
Unfortunately, the execution does not quite live up to the ambition. The historical backdrop feels underutilized, and the cultural contrasts that could have added richness remain mostly unexplored, leaving the film feeling more like a missed opportunity than a reinvention of the Revenge Thriller.
Thematically, the film explores the complex relationship between parent and child—the push and pull between a parent’s desire to shape and protect their child, and the child’s need to forge their own identity and grow independently. This tension plays out subtly through the narrative, as Tornado navigates the legacy left by her father while grappling with her own path to vengeance. However, while the film gestures at these emotional undercurrents, it does not fully commit to developing them, leaving the theme feeling more like a faint echo than a core to the film’s message.
Tornado brims with promise, blending an intriguing setting and cultural fusion, but it delays delivering the action and intrigue its premise suggests for too long. While its dedication to grounded, brutal realism and a slow-burning revenge plot creates moments of genuine tension and payoff, the film’s hesitation to fully explore its cultural depth and emotional complexity leaves it feeling shallow and unfinished. This is why Cryptic Rock gives Tornado 2 out of 5 stars.
){kind=link}
No comment