This one kind of surprised me. Metal Tornado is like a ultra low budget version with mediocre special effects version of The Day After tomorrow. The story opens with a scientist creating a magnetic containment fields to harness the sun's solar flares into magnetic energy than convert the magnetic pulses into electricity. The experiment goes awry when the vortex spirals out of control and he is killed before contacting his old employer, The Helios Company. They are conducting the global test with massive satellites and two huge collection areas, one in Pennsylvania one near Paris.
After this pretty cool set-up Lou Diamond Phillips, working at Helios attempts to convince his bosses that the strange anomalies occurring around town are caused by his company. The believability of Phillips as an astro-physicist is at least higher than Denise Richards as a nuclear scientist, but not by much. He is so understated in his delivery I never felt the sense of urgency on screen. The magnetic rapidly spirals literally out of control, and the rest of the film is spent trying to stop it.
Sexy biker chick Lisa (Cinthia Burke), good thing her leather was not covered in metal, would not want to see her get sucked away!
The movie, while the science is flawed, is rather interesting, some of the acting is terrible most is average. I really liked Nicole de Boer as the empathetic scientist Rebecca and Cinthia Burke as the tough biker Chick Lisa. Thought they gave effort and put a little pizazz in their characters. Both are good actresses and hope they get bigger budget roles after this.
Rebecca (Nicole de Boer) witnesses the huge magnetic storm and surprise, she panics! She has no transporter to escape to DS9!
Overall I liked the film somewhat, especially as a TV movie, I give a cautionary rent to those who are into disaster or scientific related films Metal Tornado rates a 5.5 out of ten and decent, but does not blow as hard as it should.
