I'll watch this again when cows fly. Yes indeed, flying cows, idiot scientists chasing tornadoes down Oklahoma dirt roads, a lovable Auntie Em High character who had towels until she served everybody steak and eggs for breakfasts, an urban legend concerning a movie drive-in theater, a Contraption dentist shoved up a tornado's butt name Dorothy add a dog in the opening scene that looks like Toto. What more could you want in a summer blockbuster? Taco where they are very friendly with each other, but soon to be exposed beams vapid fiancee who is completely out of place in the midwest, and twin tornados that I'm surprised they didn't nickname Minneapolis and St. Paul. Oh, did I mention that they were flying cows?
You've got a bunch of teenagers watching The Shining on a drive in screen while Helen Hunt's beloved aunt, Lois Smith, watches Judy Garland and James Mason in "A Star is Born". This film has so much camp that it's impossible not to love it. Hunt is separated from husband bill paxton, but they are obviously still very close, one of the few times I've seen a couple divorcing in recent film history (fairly recent that is) where the ex-wife to be wasn't a shrew and where the soap opera of that divorce to be didn't dominate the film. Had other film producers followed the lead of this summer blockbuster, we would have been spared a ton of vapid Family characters in other disaster films such as "The Day After Tomorrow", "San Andreas" and "2012", not to mention all those hideously bad Asylum films.
Certainly, as far as they are as scientists, hunt and Paxton are not the brightest tcole with common sense as they literally get under the tornadoes, something that would instantly kill others, especially if they smashed into a cow at 100 miles an hour. Jami Gertz plays the most vapid, idiotic character, obviously a big city working girl who is just extremely shallow in nature and has to realize that she'll never win Paxton's love as long as Hunt is around. The big-hearted character played by Lois Smith is a wonderful part for the veteran stage actress, who was still working in 2020, becoming the oldest Tony winner in history. I really wanted to see more of her. When she declares, "I'm going to drive myself" after being pulled out of her collapse house, I just wanted to hug her.
This probably is the best disaster film of the past 30 years, although a few of the ones that I mentioned above had great disaster sequences. But even though I hate the trope of marital issues guiding the background of films like this, here it worked. The special effects are phenomenal and the use of intended humor does make the film fly by. As ridiculous as the two lead characters are, it's impossible not to root for them. It's a film that I had fun laughing at yet cheering along, add in paying tribute to the cows who flew across the highways or ended up on everybody's plates at Smith's farm, I give this two hooves up.
Twister
1996
Action / Adventure / Drama / Thriller
Twister
1996
Action / Adventure / Drama / Thriller
Plot summary
An unprecedented series of violent tornadoes is sweeping across Oklahoma. Tornado chasers, headed by Dr. Jo Harding, attempt to release a groundbreaking device that will allow them to track them and create a more advanced warning system. They are joined by Jo's soon to be ex-husband Bill, a former tornado chaser himself, and his girlfriend Melissa.
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A big crowd pleading blockbuster hideous dinosaur of a fun bad movie.
Tornadoes and Triangles
"Twister" was the first geological disaster movie I'd ever seen. It was a cinematic success such to the degree that I believe it paved the way for the numerous geological disaster movies after it.
Watching it again I didn't have quite the same euphoria as when I first saw it. Not that the CGI was lacking, because it was great for 1996, but I'd forgot all about the love triangle. I hate love triangles.
Billy (Bill Paxton) just wanted his wife, Jo (Helen Hunt), to sign the divorce papers. He dragged his fiance, Melissa (Jamie Gertz), out to the remote location Jo was at to get the papers from her. Before he could get them nostalgia swept over him and the next thing you know he's chasing storms with his old crew with his unnerved fiance in tow.
The next hour and a half was storm chasing with Bill and Jo settling in back to how they used to be and Melissa looking like a total third wheel. She couldn't have been more out of place. While the whole storm chasing crew was this wild bunch of thrill seekers, Melissa was the prude, neat, well-groomed, doctor who was easily rattled and completely out of her element with them and with the tornados.
Billy and Melissa's split and Bill and Jo's reunion was so obviously foreshadowed that it's a wonder they waited two-thirds of the movie to make it happen. Hollywood loves to pretend her audience is made up of children who can't handle difficult situations. They had to make Melissa clearly a bad fit so that we'd all be OK with--or even pine for--Billy to split with Melissa and be with Jo. It's so patronizing.
Billy and Jo get back together (because love), their a-hole competitor was killed (because jerks die), of their four tornado data devices all but the last one was destroyed (because suspense), the final tornado was an F5 (because drama), and he sacrificed his '96 Dodge Ram for the cause (because Dodges suck).
Rabbit is wise....
TV weatherman Bill Harding is trying to get his tornado-hunter wife, Jo, to sign divorce papers so he can marry his girlfriend Melissa.
But Mother Nature, in the form of a series of intense storms sweeping across Oklahoma, has other plans.
Soon the three have joined the team of storm chasers as they attempt to insert a revolutionary measuring device into the very heart of several extremely violent tornadoes....
Yes the film is utterly ridiculous, and like other De Bont movies after Speed, completely devoid of plot, but one cannot deny, that this film entertains in droves, and like many other summer blockbusters of 1996 is a lot of loud dumb silly fun.
What ever plot there is involves trying to get microchips into a tornado, so the warning time can increase, but when you have flying cows, and flawless effects, does plot matter.
If we're to come out now, it wouldn't be as successful, as films like this are ten a penny nowadays, and there are more high concept ideas.
But for the time, it's an amazing feat, deserved of it's box office and cult following. The cast are fun, and it's always funny to see Elwes in a black van with a silent entourage, after all, he's the bad guy....