Twister

Rating:
Summary: Good effects, mediocre story.
Review: "Twister" is a success in many different ways, mainly due to the incredible use of special effects that went into its making. A movie about lots of big storms and at least five different tornadoes calls for some of the most sophisticated digital effects on the market, and on that basis, the movie delivers. The action is quite intense, and certain scenes call on some old-school clichés that we'll all recall from past disaster films. In fact, the only place in which the movie fails is its story, despite a very talented cast.

I would say that it started a revolution in the movies of today: nowadays, moviemakers seem to think that the bigger the effects, the better the movie, regardless of characterization or story. This is definitely the case with such movies as "Volcano" and "Armageddon," and there are movies that seem to get the formula for effects and story evened out, but rarely. In this case, "Twister" is more about the special effects show than about anything else.

Beginning appropriately enough with (duh!) a tornado, young Joe (played in adulthood by Helen Hunt) is traumatized by the death of her father, who was sucked up in the twister while trying to hold the storm cellar door in place as the tornado comes wailing overhead. This is one of the movie's unexplained events: he is holding the door in place so that his wife and daughter would not be sucked out of the cellar, so when he disappears, why are they still standing there? Also unexplained is the absence of her mother for the rest of the movie: did she die? Was she abducted by aliens? Guess we'll never know.

Moving on in years, the present day finds Joe and a crew of storm chasers doing what they love: spotting twisters. It is here that the baggage piles on heavily: her ex-husband, Bill (played by Bill Paxton), wants her to sign divorce papers so he can marry his new girlfriend, who, annoying enough, tags along for most of the movie's ride. Because he wants her to sign the papers, he follows along with her to chase the storms, hoping that the system he devised will be a success.

That system is a way of plotting how tornadoes form in hopes that warning time may be increased for areas in harm's way. Of course, these machines must be placed in the storm's path just a few seconds before it reaches that specific spot, making for some incredibly tense situations. And, as if the tornadoes were not a formidable enemy, the movie introduces a rival group of storm chasers with sophisticated equipment and the same system Bill developed.

Before I get to the bad parts, I must say that the special effects and action in "Twister" are in all the right places. Director Jan de Bont gets everything right in these areas: our characters find themselves in one tight situation after another. Some are unbelievable, yes (I was a bit unconvinced when the twisters come right up on the hood of the red truck), but in the grand scheme of things, this isn't the kind of movie to take too seriously when it comes to the danger.

And the effects will blow you away. This is probably one of the best recreations of inclimate weather ever put forth for the big screen. The twisters themselves are fascinating: for those of us who have always been intrigued by them, this is probably the next best thing to actually seeing one up close (and, I'm sure, a lot safer). Waiting for the first real view of a tornado is one of the best things about this movie, too.

But the story is a flop, its only purpose being to supply the motive for the effects and action, while never actually taking on any cling or meaning. Actors Paxton and Hunt, as well as some brilliant supporting actors, are given characters that do little other than put themselves in danger again and again. Basically, the story is there to give the effects a purpose for being the movie, and then it really has nothing else to do and nowhere to go.

Overall, it's lacking. This is the kind of movie where the story is overrun by an overabundance of special effects, and while they are terrific, they cannot save the movie completely. I expected more out of the story, and while I was completely enamored with the special effects and technological excellence that was so lovingly extracted for the film, I would've like to have seen better characters for such talented actors.

Rating:
Summary: Good movie
Review: This is like a perfect storm on land. The efxs are pretty good, considering this was a 1996 film. I hope they make a sequal or another wb tornado movie.

Rating:
Summary: Super!
Review: I watched this movie at a sleepover with my neighbor Paul 3 years ago. My mother made popcorn. We watched this movie in our family room. He ate his dinner before he came. He brought the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Bunch of Windbags
Review: I love Tornados. I love reading about them and I love watching tornado videos. And that's why this film was such a collosal disappointment to me. Yes, the special effects are teriffic, but the screenplay is SO corny and contrived that I found myself wishing that all of the human characters would be anihilated. Problem number one is Jamie Gertz's character, the girfriend of Bill Paxton's hero character. She serves absolutely no purpose and every moment she is on screen is like fingernails on the blackboard. Then there's the alleged romance between Helen Hunt and Paxton that is completely contrived and predicatble. Let's also throw in an incredibly stupid subplot involving so "bad guy" rival scientists ("bad" only because they have the audacity to take better paying jobs and to have theories that differ from the heroes). The film also makes the fundamental scientific mistake of referring to the climax tornado as an "F5" when that scientific description refers to the damage a tornado causes, not its appearance. Believe me, I could keep going.

Bottom line is that the screenplay for this film was written at about the level of a ten-year-old. It has as many surprises and about as much drama as a Saturday morning cartoon. Any weather-phile with a brain will likely be sorely disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Twisted
Review: Do you want to see a plot repeat itself 3 times before coming to a conclusion the 4th time around?

See this movie.

And what saves it the 4th time around anyway? An endearing old woman who gets hurt urges Helen Hunt to "stop" the madness that is the TORNADO. While you're at it, Helen, stop the earthquakes, too. Maybe you can throw some Pepsi cans in a crack and get some "readings." Okey-dokey.

If you're looking for a dynamic plot, forget it. It just keeps twisting around, and around, and around...owww.

Don't get me wrong. It is a visual feast, but so improbable even if it does open up under the premise of "the worst storm activity" in who-knows-how-long. It's still improbable all the same and our bad guy (Mr. Elwes himself of Princess Bride fame) is not so much a bad guy but an excuse to provide Bill Paxton "motive." If you can call it that. Wrap that around a confused separated-but-rediscovering-love plot twist and you wind up with a cookbook Hollywood film bound to please Hollywood executives with $$$.

It's not bad. Artistically, however, it also gives you nothing new. So...5 stars for brainless action and thin plot...2 stars for a motion picture.

Rating:
Summary: Empty-headed But Fun To Look At
Review: The tornado scenes are cool and scary to watch. This is empty-headed fair with a weak and predictable love angle. Oddly enough, the minor characters are far more interesting than the main characters. You can't take this movie seriously, especially the climax. I like the idea of "Dorothy" which is a device designed to examine the inside of a twister--cute. I was rooting for the tornato about half-way through.

Rating:
Summary: The one star is for the tornado
Review: It would've gotten two stars if it had killed Helen Hunt and Bill Paxon when it had the chance. Look, the gist of this movie is that some intern in an effects studio was screwing around and created a very tornado-like image. Next thing you know, we have a movie. I sat through this train wreck of a film until I just couldn't stand it anymore. The acting is like an off night at a middle school production of "Oklahoma". I'll recommend you buy this DVD, because there's no satisfaction like throwing the box into a deep river from a moving car when you watch more than ten minutes of this digitized crap-o-rama.

Rating:
Summary: fun fun fun till the twister takes the dodge ram away...
Review: I really enjoy this movie every time I watch it. Plus it is the only Natural Disaster film that I can stand! If you want a killer of a film that you wanna test on your sound system, this is the one! Storm chasing galore, and an internal story between the characters that allows you to make your own assumptions. It's refreshing, and covered in good, old, swirling dirt! Moo, baby!

Rating:
Summary: Fair movie, good DVD
Review: This is an ok movie. We all know people went to see the special effects, not the lack of acting or a good story about the characters. It is a good DVD with extras on it. Good to hear Van Halen music in the film.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely deserves a second watch
Review: It seems almost fashionable to say that you hated this movie. The reports I read of it said that you didn't feel any sympathy for the characters because they're storm-chasers, and thus they get themselves into the situations themselves - why the hell should we empathise with them? So, the first time I saw this film, true to type I hated it. Then, six months later, having completely forgotten what the film was about, I watched it late one night and loved it. And then watched it again in the early hours of the morning. And then watched it again the following day. Somehow, first time around, I had missed the beauty of the characterisations, and paid attention to the story and special effects, but believe me - the characters are the stars of this movie.

Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt are perfect playing opposite each other. From the moment the film begins you feel the sexual tension between them, and it is clear that these two people love each other but cannot live with one another. Whichever of the two writers (one of whom was esteemed Michael Crichton) dreamed up the idea of Paxton's new (and thankfully 3-dimensional) flame hit on a winning streak, because it introduces an interesting dynamic into what could have been just another droll special-effects movie. Two worlds collide, and you have that very primeval feeling of a man trapped between what he deems his duty and his true feelings - he wants to chase storms, but rationality says he has to settle down. Every moment Hunt and Paxton are alone together being weighted against the fact that Paxton's new partner is watching/listening/demanding attention lends the proceedings a tragic air that elevates 'Twister' (forgive the pun) far above Jan De Bont's other films. That they know each other inside out yet are not together really pulls at the heartstrings. Anyone who disagrees with me should watch it again just for the scene in the rain on the hill when the second DOROTHY machine falls off the back of the truck. I'm not saying it's going to change your mind and make you love this movie, but the depth of feeling that goes into Hunt's character and the way that should-be husband Paxton deals with it is a truly phenomenal film moment. Far from having no empathy with the characters, I felt deeply for Hunt's obsessional quest to get over her father's death, and I related strongly to Paxton's character's attempts to put his destructive past behind him and move on to pastures new, despite loving that destructive past with all his heart. And, beyond Cary Elwes, there are none of the stereotypes associated with these sorts of movies; the supporting cast of talented character actors put 'Twister' into a realm of its own.

So based on that, I think 'Twister' deserves a second look. I'm not saying you're going to love it, but where this film succeeds where others (like 'Species' and 'Sphere' and 'Speed') don't is in creating a believable sense of camaraderie in the characters, rather than allowing every character to fit into an easily labelled 'star' or 'support' bracket. Now I know there are many who will disagree, but I think this is certainly De Bont at his smoothest, Crichton at his most sensitive (not sentimental - completely different things), Hunt at her most expressive and Paxton at his most exuberant. And it's even got a Lisa Loeb song on the soundtrack - what more could you want?