Movie · 2025 · Drama, Action, Western · 1h 31m · R · English
Curator score: 1.8/10 (20K ratings)
In the face of evil, become a force of nature.
Overview
When her father's puppet samurai show gets ambushed by a notorious gang, Tornado vows to seek vengeance and forge her own destiny by stealing their ill-gotten gold.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.8/10
IMDb: 5.5/10
Letterboxd: 2.96/5
Metacritic: 57
TMDB: 6.2/10
Director
John Maclean
Production
HanWay Films, Tea Shop Productions, National Lottery, BFI Network, Ashland Hill Media Finance
Cast
Kōki, Tim Roth, Jack Lowden, Takehiro Hira, Rory McCann, Raphaël Thiéry, Alex Macqueen, Jack Morris, Dennis Okwera, Jamie Michie, Bryan Michael Mills, Ian Hanmore, Douglas Russell, Sammy Hayman, Joanne Whalley, Nathan Malone, Kerry Lynn Hamilton, Nina Barnett, Clive Kneller, Jude Cranston
Where to watch
Hulu, AMC+, Philo, Sundance Now
Curator Review
Verdict
A lean, stylish revenge western with strong atmosphere, striking cinematography, and a memorable lead performance, but the emotional arc and action payoffs are uneven. It seems to work best as a mood piece and visual homage rather than a fully satisfying vengeance story.
Best for
Viewers who like austere revenge tales
Fans of samurai-western crossovers
People who prioritize cinematography and score
Audiences open to minimal, elliptical storytelling
Skip if
You want big, cathartic action set pieces
You need deeply developed supporting characters
You prefer tightly motivated plotting
You dislike slow-burn revenge stories with a cool, detached tone
Overview
Tornado is the kind of genre hybrid that lives or dies on mood, and here the mood is often the main attraction. John Maclean leans into a stripped-down revenge structure, pairing Scottish landscapes with samurai and western iconography for a film that feels more like a grim fable than a conventional action picture. The lead performance draws a lot of attention, and the visual style is consistently strong.
Worth noting
What holds it back is that the emotional machinery never fully clicks. The revenge premise is clear, but several viewers seem to feel the grief is undercooked and the escalation too abrupt, which makes the legend-building around the protagonist feel a little unearned. The action is present, but it’s more restrained and less explosive than the premise might suggest.
Bottom line
Still, for viewers who value atmosphere, score, and a compact runtime over narrative fullness, it has a lot to offer. It plays like a deliberately austere cousin to more operatic revenge films: less spectacle, more silhouette, dust, and dread.
Top Letterboxd reviews
liam stroup (2★) · 511 likes
Stylish black man aura farms for an hour
scoutjovi (2★) · 343 likes
Didn’t vibe with this at all.
It has some beautiful shots in the film and pays homage to classic samurai films of the past. But Tornado’s revenge tale never feels earned; her grief and sorrow never feel worth caring too much about. Tornado herself and the side cast start to treat her like a legend for her actions, but it is in no way earned at all.
The first hour of this film is a slog while you watch the… more
Joel R. (3★) · 266 likes
Stripped down, bare bones, no nonsense, bleak, minimalistic samurai western revenge flick.
The vengeance was swift (too swift) and bloody. (not bloody enough) I was definitely hoping for something a little more spectacular, Kill Bill like from the climax. But that's not the kind of movie this is.
Excellent cinematography. (Probably the number one selling point) Tim Roth's always great. Not enough Takehiro Hira. If you need something more than a bunch of actors running around in the woods for… more
MrPPeeps (4★) · 187 likes
Hell yeah! A tight, fast-paced 90 minute Scottish western/samurai revenge flick, that's beautifully shot with arguably my favourite score of the entire year so far! It's stripped down, no messing around and it's literally "go!" from the word... go. The actors kill it, there's some Kurosawa/Kobayashi flair thrown in there for good measure because why the hell not, and other than wishing the finale got a tad bit bloodier (it's still pretty bloody) I kind of loved this and I think it's only going to get better with age for me.
| 2025 Ranked |My Last Review: | The Legend of Ochi |
CinemaCollect (2.5★) · 161 likes
Every time this film has something going for it, there's something equally going against it. It starts off with a trilling bang, but does to justify its structure. It has a talented cast with good performance, but aside from Tornado, offer no characterization whatsoever. The score is grand, offering one of the best of the year, but the camera movement feels unmotivated and the editing is trying to make up for it.
The best thing coming of this is that Kōki is going to be a star after this.
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