IN THEIR WORLD, TORNADOES STRENGTHEN THE BONDS OF FRIENDSHIP

In “Never Stop Chasing,” the dangerous livelihood of storm hunting is underpinned by a rare intimacy among men who grew up together. The most beautiful part of the movie doesn’t really have to do with storms at all. It’s watching a crew of men who grew up together doing something crazy, obviously enjoying being together and caring for one another, waiting for the next storm to develop.

Reed Timmer is arguably the most recognizable storm chaser in the world, known for his fearless enthusiasm as he willingly drives directly toward tornadoes with his team in one of his heavily armored “Dominator” vehicles. In the pulse-pounding documentary “Never Stop Chasing,” Timmer’s exploits are expanded from his decades-long presence on the Discovery Channel and YouTube and the like, to the big screen. Even given the devastating run of storms that have pounded the Midwest this summer, this is the closest MOST of us will get to a tornado, and thank God for that.

For fans of either or both of the Twister movies, you’re going to meet people in this documentary who clearly seem to be reference points for characters in those two films, with Timmer seeming to be an older, wiser version of Glen Powell’s character in Twisters. When he’s chasing a tornado, he barks out orders, demands navigational directions, and has multiple cameras going, aimed both at the ominous weather around them and at him and his team inside their armored vehicle (mostly to protect the car from flying debris), the Dominator 3.

Watching Timmer and his colleagues as they chase tornados is fascinating in itself. As captured by director Ken Cole and his team, Timmer and friends travel in a two-vehicle convoy. Timmer drives the lead vehicle, a truck that has been specially outfitted with protective material so that it looks like a stout, modified tank, able to withstand high, buffeting winds, and protect against flying debris.