Diane Ruth When a UFO is shot down by the U.S., Seattle suffers the devastating consequences in this exciting science fiction film from gifted director Jason Bourque. The script, by David Rae and Jeff Renfroe, not only provides an intelligent sci-fi story for Bourque to work with, it emphasizes character development and the nature of human relationships during times of crisis. The performances are superb and we find ourselves caring deeply for these people as they fight for their own survival and for that of those they love. Esai Morales is a particular standout in his inspired role and gives one of does some of his finest work in years. Spectacular special effects are never allowed to diminish the humanity of this film and serves to amplify the powerful message of the screenplay. This is not simply about destroying what we don't understand and therefore fear. It's also about the value of the individual and each one's importance to the other. An extraordinary film of other worldly encounters, high crisis, and the essential nature of love.

Michael O'Keefe Someone bored and with gullible imagination will spill cold drink in the popcorn and lack jawed enjoy seeing the city of Seattle try to scurry to safety. Well, it came from the sky. An unidentified object is tracked over the state of Washington and lands in Puget Sound. A dark, murky cloud spreads in the water and soon wetsuits rise to the surface without human life to be found. The Seattle sky starts turning black as officials inspect the watery debris. Lt. Commander Emma Peterson(Ona Grauer)is assigned to try to identify the mysterious threat and arrange security for the city. Her fiancé, scientist Tom Reynolds(Esai Morales), is unable to sit still and ignore what is going on, so he sends their two teens(Jared Abrahamson and Mackenzie Porter) home, unknowingly putting them right in the path of the developing superstorm. The city is in chaos and somehow we are to believe this family will figure out together how to stop this drastic calamity before it grows into something that could actually cause world alarm. We see almost 200 scenes of the Space Needle, Seattle's iconic identify and computer generated destruction to the city. The movie is not even filmed in Seattle, but Vancouver. Acting is more like going through the motions and its a shame the talents of Morales and Grauer go wasted. Also in the cast: Michelle Harrison, Jay Brazeau and Martin Cummins.

swicinski This movie just shows you what's wrong with the US government! Did you realize that the regional director of the Disaster Management Agency has the authority to order a massive military assault on a US city, showering the city with missiles until it is just a memory? I didn't either, until I saw this movie! In fact, the president couldn't even order this man to stand down, he had to give orders to some air force officer who tries to stop him! (Luckily for everyone involved he was not able to commit his plan due to a lucky lightening strike).But don't think for a moment that the stars are out to save the people of Seattle, either. They're just as dastardly, but more subtle. As the superstorm is barreling down onto Seattle, and is just moving into position, the air force officer decides it's time to evacuate the city! Yes, wait until the storm is right on top of you, then put everyone in the streets! Haha, she really didn't like the people of Seattle. I think she must not like the coffee.We could go onto silly things, like how a Russian scientist can get past several layers of military security, but the ex-NASA guy was being frisked down, even with his ID. Or the DMA guys were at the docks to watch the object crash (do they work there?). Or that the scientists immediately were worried about what the mysterious substance could do to the weather patterns, as opposed to things such as whether it was poisonous or an environmental issue.But that's our government! Always worried about climate first! And nuking our own cities!

Paul Magne Haakonsen Another epic disaster threatening the very existence of mankind? Haven't these scenarios soon been done enough? There are so many movies of this genre out there, and most of them, oddly enough, are quite bad and filled with lousy effects. Now, "Seattle Superstorm" was pretty much the same as most others of its genre, though it had slightly better effects.The story is about Tom (played by Esai Morales) and Wyatt (played by Jared Abrahamson) who have come together with Emma (played by Ona Grauer) and Chloe (played by MacKenzie Porter), but of course the two teenagers doesn't get along well and have problems coping with their parents coming together. But wait, it gets better, the USA army shoots down something unexplained over the skies of Seattle, and that triggers a cataclysmic event that spawns an ever-growing super storm that threatens all of Seattle, but then also all of USA and finally all of the world.And guess who is going to stop this super storm? Yep, that is right, the four family members, because apparently the government, the army, the fire department, the police department, even the common folks of Seattle have no interest in trying to stop this cataclysm. So it is up to the family of four! Yeah, that was just oh-so-believable, but also oh-so-stereotypical for movies in this genre. And by saying that of course they do stop it, I haven't revealed anything that you didn't already knew would happen. But come on, I mean, such a thing happening as to four people stopping Mother Nature's fury and saving all of the world, it is just such a ludicrous plot.The effects in "Seattle Superstorm" were actually alright. There were a couple of scenes that were questionable, but in overall, I found the storm effects to actually be alright. And I was laughing so hard when a bolt of lightning singled out the 'villain' of the story, that was just too much.The DVD cover said "A Disaster of Epic Proportions", so I was sort of thinking that they actually advertised that this movie was going to suck big time. But fortunately, "Seattle Superstorm" actually surprised me as it was slightly better than most other storm movies in the low-budget scale of movies."Seattle Superstorm" is adequate entertainment if you have nothing better planned or got nothing better to watch. It is the type of movie where you already know the ending even before you start the movie. So unhook your brain and just sit back on a stormy ride...