The delights of Westerns and martial arts collide in what proved to be one of the best (and most underrated) action movies of last year, which is finally streaming on a major platform in the United States. Transporting audiences and the spaghetti Western to 1790s Scotland, the period action thriller has everything you could want from both genres as a band of scumbag villains attempts to hunt down a young woman after killing her father. Little do they know, she has a particular set of skills that make her a nightmare for people like that.
From the director of Slow West, John Maclean, and starring Tim Roth (The Hateful Eight), Jack Lowden (Slow Horses), Takeiro Hira (Shōgun, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters), and Kōki as the titular character, Tornado, the Western action outing landed in theaters back in June last year, and follows the cinematic tradition of combining East with West as seen in the likes of such genre classics as The Magnificent Seven, A Fistful of Dollars, and the 2013 remake of Unforgiven.
Tornado strives to add to this trend like never before, combining the desolate landscapes and amorality of Western-esque villains with the unbridled determination and immense skill of a young Samurai warrior to deliver a profoundly brutal tale of vengeance. And it’s a tale that U.S. audiences can now experience for themselves as Tornado has finally landed on 
Hulu, with the period action thriller available to stream on 
Prime Video elsewhere. You can check out the official synopsis below…
“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.”
However, while the above clearly relishes in the excitement of being able to watch Tornado on streaming, reviews and reactions to the movie were decidedly mixed. Tornado currently stands at 66% from critics, alongside just 49% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. But does that even matter? Tornado is the kind of unique action outing you need to witness for yourself, with the more positive responses hailing the movie as an “exhilarating samurai action while asking existential questions,” “a fusion of fury and vengeance,” and a “Classic western /samurai with a twist” brimming with “Grit and survival, the movie stayed with me for days.” All of which cements Tornado as one of 2025’s most underrated hidden gems.
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