Tornado

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1:52

Tornado

R

2025

1h 31m

Action

Mystery & Thriller

Western

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

66%

Tomatometer

73 Reviews

56%

Popcornmeter

50+ Verified 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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Leigh Singer

Sight & Sound

Nov 5

Maclean achieves his aim: to provide exhilarating samurai action while asking existential questions about the elemental forces that dispassionately shape, and can destroy us.

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

Oct 7

Think Kurosawa in a kilt -- not something we might have expected to see, perhaps, yet somehow it works.

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Leaf Arbuthnot

New Statesman

06/18/2025

The film looks and sounds like a better film than it is... Moments of beauty aren’t enough to make a film worth seeing, and there is something lacking here. Characters speak ponderously and act incomprehensibly.

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John Stark

Mac the Movie Guy

Nov 1

89/100

Tornado is staggering in its refusal to convention, relishing in homage to masterworks of decades ago, while blending it with a fusion of fury and vengeance that propels this underrated gem to one of the best films of 2025.

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Del Winters

MovieJawn

08/19/2025

Tornado reminds us that characterization is built just as strongly in performance, costuming, and the camera’s frame, movement, and focus.

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John Daniel Tangalin

The Cinema Spot

07/19/2025

4.5/5

In the eye of the tornado lie certain truths that aren’t to be hidden. Perhaps, we are who we are due to the choices each of us makes, but it is how we use our strengths that defines whether we are good or bad people.

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Max T

06/06/2025

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

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movies_with_Peter on IG

06/05/2025

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.

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ALVIN H

06/05/2025

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

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Mr. Hollywood

06/05/2025

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

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Kelvin G

06/05/2025

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.

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Jeff

06/03/2025

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

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John Maclean

Director

Tim Roth

Sugarman

Jack Lowden

Little Sugar

Takehiro Hira

Fujin

Joanne Whalley

Vienna Crawford

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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
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2025
Box Office (Gross USA): $213.5K
Runtime: 1h 31m

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