Review of Twister

Introduction

I worked for a while at the Met Office in the Weather Radar department, and a result, I have something of a soft spot in my heart for Twister. While there are many disaster movies around, there aren`t that many weather movies, and something in Twister just appeals to my inner scientist. OK real science is never so exciting and immediate, and like any event movie, a lot of the science is just buzzwords and pop science. But there is just enough accurate science in here to keep me interested without me throwing my popcorn at the screen in derision. The G.O.E.S weather satellites depicted here are genuine, but I still laugh at the idea of a Doppler weather radar mounted on top of a Scooby van.

The story charts the eventful days in the lives of a Tornado research team, in the middle of Tornado season in Kansas. The story begins when, Bill and his fiancé, Melissa need the finalised divorce documents from Bill`s first marriage to Jo, the head of the research team. Bill and Melissa head out to Kansas to get the papers, which Jo has "forgotten" to sign. While there Bill finds that the team has realised his design for a Tornado instrument pack, Dorothy. Dorothy will be sucked into the funnel of a tornado, dispersing little transmitters that will report back on the structure and mechanics of tornadoes. When Bill realises that a rival team, headed by ex colleague Jonas and backed by big corporate money has stolen his design and are also there, he agrees to assist the research team to get Dorothy to work. Melissa decides to join them, wanting to learn about Bill`s previous life. So the motley bunch goes chasing tornadoes across the Kansas countryside. Jo still holds a candle for Bill and working together again isn`t easy, but when the weather becomes extreme and the tornadoes deadlier, such trivial concerns are left behind.

Video

The disc is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer. The picture by and large is quite good, but this is an incredibly dynamic film with oodles of dust and debris flying everywhere, especially during the stronger tornado scenes, and there are moments when the flesh tones seemed a little off. A small quibble, perhaps. Jan de Bont directs with an amazing sense of scale. The special effects aside, his cinematography is epic and the aerial photography sweeps across vast open landscapes, filling the screen with a burst of colour. The special effects are awesome and really are a character in this film. The tornadoes look stupendous and their effect on the landscape is suitably devastating.

Audio

Twister comes with DD 5.1 sound, in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The sound is outstanding, with the chaos of the storms brought to life. There are times when the dialogue almost becomes inaudible, but that would be expected. The visuals are matched by the music. Mark Mancina`s score is the standard action movie score, but punctuates the pace of the movie well, but the songs chosen for the soundtrack are excellent and do more than the composer`s music to set the mood.

Features

This is an old disc, and extras are fairly light. The theatrical trailer is a given, and you also get the cast bios. Try as I might, I couldn`t find hide nor hair of the production notes. Damn erroneous sleeve notes.

Conclusion

With the amazing standard of effects, you can only wonder how much of the films budget was spent in realising them, it is all the more understandable when you consider that the cast is what you could most kindly call B-List. Helen Hunt stars as Jo, and the character is unconventional, dedicated if not obsessed, just as you would expect a scientist to be. She also has the obligatory traumatic event in her past. Bill Paxton is Bill and tries his best to be a charismatic leading man. He has the wry grin, the glint in the eye, the funny lines, but he can`t quite pull it off. Judging by his performance here he isn`t leading man material, but compared to the rest of the cast, he fits right in. Jami Gertz is Melissa, who doesn`t have a lot to do but scream and react to flying cows. She is here as an everyman, to represent our viewpoint, other than that she is pretty redundant. Cary Elwes is Jonas, the bad guy. It`s a shame that the scriptwriters felt the need to polarise the characters and make the story so simplistic. Jonas pales against the fury of the tornadoes, and his character is pretty much a fifth wheel in this film. He pretty much serves to fill Blockbuster conventions and his character`s exit is expected and a little clichéd. No, the stars of this movie are the twisters themselves. The tornadoes are brought to the screen with a deadly grandeur that render the cast performances pale in comparison. I must mention two characters though. Rabbit and Dusty do much to give this film a personality and help it escape from staple clichés. Alan Ruck is Rabbit and though his contribution is small, it`s always a joy to see him on the screen. Philip Seymour Hoffman breathes life into Dusty and his spaced out surf talk and laid back attitude make the character almost as tall as the twisters.

This was the event movie of summer `96, and as such it fulfils all the conventions of the genre, sticking to the necessary clichés like glue. Bill is some sort of tornado Jedi, who can tell what a storm is thinking. Jo has the necessary trauma in the past to motivate her tornado mania. Jonas is the evil usurper who will suffer for his betrayal. Melissa is the layman who asks questions on hallowed ground. When she asks, "Has anyone ever seen an F5 tornado?" and the whole room goes into a shocked and respectful silence, it is such an obvious cliché that I laugh out loud every time. The tornadoes are obviously anthropomorphised, where they look like they are acting with malice and forethought. I guess it`s no surprise that one Michael Crichton penned the script. Despite these drawbacks, I love this film. The cast, while not exactly A-list, are into the script, and it looks as if they enjoyed making the film. The effects are awe-inspiring and the action relentless. There is enough spark and individuality in the script to divorce it from all the other man against nature blockbusters. The film looks spectacular and sounds thunderous, if a little diminished on a small screen. Best of all, there are no villains and no guns, just pure entertainment. On a personal note, there is just enough accurate science in here to make me happy and guess what, a movie that makes meteorology exciting. Eat your heart out Michael Fish.