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Tornado

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1:52

Tornado

R

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1h 31m

Action

Mystery & Thriller

Western

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70%

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43 Reviews

59%

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50+ Ratings

Set in the rugged landscape of 1790s Britain, Tornado (Kōki) is a young and determined Japanese woman who finds herself caught in a perilous situation when she and her father's travelling puppet Samurai show crosses paths with a gang of ruthless criminals led by Sugarman (Tim Roth) and his ambitious son Little Sugar (Jack Lowden). In an attempt to create a new life for herself, Tornado seizes the opportunity to take matters into her own hands and steal the gold from their most recent heist. With her father murdered by the gang and her life in grave danger, what follows is a thrilling tale of adrenaline-fueled action, as Tornado races against time to escape a violent demise and avenge her father's death. Armed with her father's Samurai training, Tornado leaves a trail of devastation and bloody revenge in her wake.

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Critics Consensus

Marking writer-director John Maclean's welcome return to the Western genre, Tornado's melange of tones doesn't always cohere but is unique enough to be worth giving a whirl.

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Andy Crump

AV Club

It’s more that the specific combination of jidaigeki period piece, highland character study, and frontier justice that’s new, making Tornado a harrowing, blustery, violent amalgamation of an idiosyncratic spirit.

Rated: B

May 30, 2025

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Simon Abrams

RogerEbert.com

Your enjoyment of “Tornado” depends on how much you want to root for thinly drawn characters who don’t look strong enough to carry an entire movie.

Rated: 2.5/4

May 30, 2025

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Glenn Kenny

New York Times

In the title role, the singer-songwriter Koki is both charming and indomitable.

May 29, 2025

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Steven Prokopy

Third Coast Review

Tornado is entertaining, for sure, but it also feels lived in and authentic while telling a story that could only play out in this specific time and place.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jun 7, 2025

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Armond White

National Review

Maclean goes film-school and poetic, quoting Arseni Tarkovsky... Tarkovsky père isn’t Tarkovsky fils, and Tornado isn’t serious or intelligent enough.

Jun 7, 2025

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Chris Cassingham

In Review Online

Tornado is... tinged with darkly absurdist comedy and violence a la Sergio Leone and Akira Kurosawa, [but that doesn't] quite save a film propped up feebly by blunt dialogue and simple psychology.

Jun 6, 2025

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Max T

Cool, slow-burn revenge project I have seen this year!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/06/25

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movies_with_Peter on IG

Couldn’t decide if it was a family film. Kids film. Cowboy film. Or samurai film. All n all, a fine college movie final quality film.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/05/25

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ALVIN H

A good mishmash’s of Old Western/ Samurai movie. Not enough character building and the only redeeming aspect of the movie is the third act of the movie

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/05/25

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Mr. Hollywood

The movie is straight to the point with some decent kills. But with that it doesnt do much else. Story is simple and cinematography looks decent but you could tell the budget wasnt that big. Worth a watch

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/05/25

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Kelvin G

It was fine. The lead actress handled the role well and Tim Roth was a good villain but the story was pretty weak. The other characters felt like fodder for the plot to move forward rather actual characters. The run time was nice and tight.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/05/25

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Jeff

Beautifully shot period piece set in 1790 Scotland this is a slow drawn out revenge with minimal satisfaction.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/03/25

Full Review

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John Maclean

Director

Tim Roth

Sugarman

Jack Lowden

Little Sugar

Takehiro Hira

Fujin

Joanne Whalley

Vienna Crawford

Kōki

Tornado

Tornado: Trailer 1

1:52

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Synopsis

Set in the rugged landscape of 1790s Britain, Tornado (Kōki) is a young and determined Japanese woman who finds herself caught in a perilous situation when she and her father's travelling puppet Samurai show crosses paths with a gang of ruthless criminals led by Sugarman (Tim Roth) and his ambitious son Little Sugar (Jack Lowden). In an attempt to create a new life for herself, Tornado seizes the opportunity to take matters into her own hands and steal the gold from their most recent heist. With her father murdered by the gang and her life in grave danger, what follows is a thrilling tale of adrenaline-fueled action, as Tornado races against time to escape a violent demise and avenge her father's death. Armed with her father's Samurai training, Tornado leaves a trail of devastation and bloody revenge in her wake.

Director: John Maclean
Producer: Leonora Darby, James Harris, Mark Lane
Screenwriter: John Maclean
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Tea Shop Productions
Rating: R (Language|Strong Violence)
Genre: Action, Mystery & Thriller, Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 30, 2025, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $138.3K
Runtime: 1h 31m

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