Tornado

by Mike McGranaghan

Tornado is a movie I enjoyed simply because it’s difficult to categorize. You could technically call it a samurai tale, albeit an unconventional one. It’s got elements in common with Westerns, too. A devious sense of humor peeks out at times, and the extreme violence has a grindhouse feel. Writer/director John Maclean weaves his story in unpredictable ways that make it fun to see where it will go next.

The setting is Britian during the 1790s. Tornado (Kōki) is the daughter of a Japanese puppeteer who travels around with a group of other performers. He schools her in the art of puppetry, but also in the art of the samurai. The young woman encounters a group of thieves, led by the quietly sinister Sugarman (Tim Roth) - an encounter that ends in catastrophe. She then decides to get revenge by stealing their gold. Sugarman sends his men after her. His rebellious son, Little Sugar (Jack Lowden), gives hints that he’s not totally on board with the plan.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to call Tornado a minimalist action movie. Dialogue is sparse and direct. We’re not given much information about anyone’s past; the here and now is all that’s important. When the violence arrives, it comes in abrupt bursts. That stripped-to-the-bone approach gives the film a sense of urgency. The only thing that matters is whether our heroine can win out over the bad guys.

Even with that minimalist style, the actors are free to do incredible work. Kōki, who proved a stunner in 2024’s Touch, conveys everything we need to know about Tornado through her eyes. She gives a powerfully internal performance, mixing vulnerability with determination. The actress hits a peak during the finale, in which Tornado unleashes all the sword-fighting skills she learned from her dad.

Tim Roth is a master at doing a lot with very little, and he makes Sugarman a menacing figure. In one scene, there’s a closeup of the character’s face. Roth barely moves, yet you can see a tiny switch as he goes from full-on hostility to softening ever so slightly. His deadpan delivery of lines – including “Find her, or I’ll kill the fucking lot of you.” – is chilling.

Tornado runs a tight 90 minutes. There’s no fat on this picture whatsoever. Cinematographer Robbie Ryan (Poor Things) shoots it all in a gorgeously moody fashion. And the gruesome way one of Sugarman’s men bites the dust at Tornado’s hand will be stuck in my mind for the foreseeable future. This is a cool movie worth seeking out.

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