Director: Jan de Bot
Starring: Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton and Jami Gertz
‘A Tense Tornado Classic’
Tornadoes are tense disasters that have often terrified me. Ever since I was a young child, I’ve often been scared of tornadoes. With powerful wind, messy nature and larger-than-life impact, tornadoes have always caused me to face fear. This fear of tornadoes has been a pivotal part of my life since my childhood. Unfortunately, it’s something that I have never been able to get over. For some reason or another, tornados have always been a source of endless fear for me. It started by seeing memorable movies about disastrous tornadoes destroying cities. This lifelong fear of tornadoes started when I first watched the iconic film “Twister”.
When it comes to the best movies ever made about tornado disaster, it’s worth discussing “Twister”. Released in 1996, the film changed the art of Cinema through powerful portrayals of a tornado disaster. Packed with breathtaking visual effects, tense storytelling and powerful performances, the film launched the modern-day disaster genre. For a movie made in the late 1990’s, it has aged incredibly well over time. Although “Twister” is an undeniable technical achievement, ultimately it isn’t a flawless film. Its unevenly paced, and lacks compelling character development. That being said, it offers exhilarating entertainment which would definitely please fans of the disaster movie genre.
Set in Oklahoma, “Twister” tells the story of a group of storm chasers embarking on missions to stop a tornado causing trauma. Helen Hunt embodies Jo Harding, a meteorologist that is obsessed with investigating tornadoes. Jo joins forces with a team of storm chasers to stop a tornado causing irreparable disasters. Assisted by her divorced husband Bill (Bill Paxton), Jo embarks on a journey to stop a tornado which is causing catastrophe. As she discovers the grim reality of tornadoes, Jo questions whether she would ever be able to successfully cope with a catastrophe.
Director Jan De Bont is a newcomer to the disaster genre. Before making “Twister” in the late 1990’s, De Bont had never made a disaster movie in his career. De Bont was known for directing the famous car blockbuster “Speed”. With “Twister”, however, De Bont created his first tornado disaster movie. It was the director’s first attempt to capture tornado disasters on the big-screen, but he succeeded. Through stunning cinematography, De Bont captures tornadoes that cause catastrophe. Visually, the film is a feast for the eyes as stunning as tornadoes that storm chasers endeavour to materialize. De Bont effectively uses hand-held camera to capture a group of scientists on a journey to inspect tornado catastrophes. Handheld camera elevates the scene where the scientists suddenly stumble across a real-life tornado. Through breathtaking visuals, De Bont captures a tornado with consequences which prove to be terrifying.
Another admirable aspect of “Twister” that contributes to it success is the visual effects. For a movie directed in the 1990’s, the visual effects of the film have aged incredibly over time. Jan De Bont effectively used practical effects to capture the awe-inspiring wonder of a tornado disaster. For instance, practical effects elevated the tornado chase scene. During this frightening scene, Jo embarks on a journey to inspect a tornado catastrophe. One appreciates practical effects that bring realistic tornadoes to life. Moreover, the musical score is dazzling. Marc Maccino’s music contributes to the film’s success. The music is intense, nerve-wracking and suspenseful. Using frightening visual effects, De Bont captures intense tornadoes that are terrifying.
Amidst thrilling tornado action, it’s a shame that “Twister” finds no time to tell a strong story. The film is poorly written, and lacks a strong sense of character development. De Bont pays so much attention to creating an impressive tornado that he loses all sight of character development. For instance, Jo is a wooden female character that lacks strong backstory. We’re barely given any reasons to care about Jo beyond the fact that she’s a woman struck in a troubled divorce facing despair. It’s hard to care about characters which we barely get to know on a personal level. The movie may have benefitted from finding a balance between the character development and action. Therefore, storytelling is one area where “Twister” falters.
Thankfully, though, the fantastic acting keeps “Twister” from falling apart. In a star-studded cast, every actor shines and leaves a lasting impression.
Helen Hunt delivers one of her finest career performances as Jo. Hunt achieved fame by playing women in romantic comedies. With “Twister”, however, Hunt took her first step into the disaster genre. It isn’t easy to depict the personality of a scientist determined to investigate a tornado catastrophe, but she pulled it off successfully. With mesmerizing expressions, Hunt captures the angst, courage and intelligence of a scientist investigating tornadoes. It’s a phenomenal performance that launched the career of a beloved actress today.
The supporting cast is spectacular and also worthy of attention. Bill Paxton is powerful, capturing the emotions of a divorced man seeking to repair broken relationships with a woman obsessed with tornado destruction. Cary Elwes is captivating, bringing charisma towards a cocky engineer that loves chasing tornadoes causing catastrophe. Lastly, Phillip Seymour Hoffman is phenomenal. In one of his finest roles, the actor brings hilarious comical relief.
Despite its’ powerful performances, however, “Twister” can’t quite capture the danger that’s posed by a terrifying tornado disaster. If there’s one shortcoming to the movie, it lacks engaging pacing. De Bont’s choice to integrate romance subplots into the film is bold but doesn’t quite succeed. Therefore, scenes focusing on Jo’s romance with her past husband aren’t entirely as engaging as her journey to prevent a dire tornado catastrophe. Such scenes feel more appropriate for romantic comedies rather than disaster movies. Although it’s easy to see why the romantic subplot was included in the movie, it’s far less interesting than the tornado investigation. In this regard, the movie would have benefitted from a strong focus on tornadoes. Thus, “Twister” fails to capture disasters.
In the end, “Twister” is a fun but formulaic movie about tornado disasters. An enjoyable blockbuster, it’s worth watching for a strong depiction of tornadoes causing disaster.
Nearly 30 years following release of an iconic classic about meteorologists putting their lives in danger to investigate a frightening tornado causing disaster, it’s a touching reminder of an influential film that forever changed the perceptions of tornadoes in the world through its depiction of a twister putting the lives of scientists in grave danger introducing the disaster movie genre that left behind a lasting legacy through its heartfelt depiction of natural disasters affecting the lives of divorced couples that movie-goers treasure.
3.5/5 stars
The Film Buff 
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