Science Fiction takes on a new concept with Seattle Superstorm and its compelling in a curious way. Now on DVD the movie takes the action into your living room with some good special effects, a fair directing job and some very decent acting by the whole cast. The movie works well for teens and the older science fiction enthusiasts who like a lot of action with their fantasy.
The story centers on Lt. Commander Emma Peterson (Ona Grauer) who has just been given the news that a mysterious object has just been shot down over Seattle where she runs the Disaster Management Agency field headquarters. The incident starts to turn into a major crisis when Seattle Harbor reports that the divers trying to fish the item out of the water have vanished. Sometime later the earth starts to quake and tornadoes start to form from smoke that’s rising from the sea. When the DMA finds out that they have something biological causing the disturbances, they call on NASA scientist Tom Reynolds (Esai Morales) to help save the city.
The movie has a lot of action coming from the weather catastrophes and panic by the disaster management team who cannot seem to get a grip on the cause and ways to control the phenomenon. Director Jason Bourque (Dark Storm- TV) keeps his film moving fast while he develops his characters and shows their skills inserting each of them into the movie at times when their ability is needed most. I actually like the way he exposes what the mysterious object does and why it was coming from beyond earth in the first place. He adds a bit of mystery to his madness and for that wins a round or two of praise.
The science fiction peaks when the unlikely team of Commander Peterson, her high school daughter Chloe (MacKenzie Porter), Reynolds and his son Wyatt (Jared Abrahamson) come up with a plan to save Seattle and the world. Although the plot become somewhat dodgy it fits into the puzzle when they bring in a Russian scientist Dimitri Kandinsky (Jay Brazeau) who just happens to be in Seattle at the moment the space object slams into the town. He becomes the person who identifies the mysterious smoke that forms the storms so biologist Reynolds can make sense of the whole event.
The acting doesn’t have to be superior here as the storms drive most of the design of the film. Special effects are rather good and except for a few challenging scenes keep the movie entertaining and interesting enough to sit through it to the very end. Some of the more spectacular effects include the toppling of the Seattle Space Needle, an earthquake ripping through interiors, tornadoes shredding the landscape and lightning zapping everything from buildings to people. I especially like the seamless green screen scene of the guy flying through the air and slamming into a shipping container during the hurricane winds.
The video quality is very good even on DVD with the full 16×9 presentation on my HD Television. The film has very good clarity and I found that most of the haze was intentional during the day filled with tornadoes and super storms. The special effects come off very nicely in HD and in only some instances can you see any distortion between buildings and background.
The sound quality is very good played through my HD Television, but even better when I switched to my upgraded sound bar. The Dolby Digital 5.1 carried the sound nicely from the TV and with the sound bar to the sides as well. There was one or two times I swear it was coming from the rear and I don’t have a speaker in the back of the room.
Seattle Superstorm has not been rated but does contain violence and some gore. You may want to watch the film first before deciding to allow young children see the film as it does have some scenes that may be a little frightening for them.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Esai Morales, Ona Grauer, Jared Abrahamson, MacKenzie Porter and Jay Brazeau
Directed by: Jason Bourque
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Genre: Science Fiction, Action
Running Time: 1 hr 28 min
Video Release Date: August 27, 2013
Original Film Release Date: March 31, 2012
Language: English
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: 16×9 with a 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
Subtitles: None
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: ARC Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
