OK a lot of you are wondering where I've been in the last few days. Well it's a long story you see it's none of your business. The point is I'm back and I'm reviewing a movie so let's move on.
Aside from comics, video games, cartoons, and anime. Tornadoes were one of my special interest when I was a kid. Not sure why or how I got into tornadoes but just love tornadoes. Since elementary school I've been reading books about tornadoes, watching TV specials about tornadoes. Hell I even wanted to be a storm chaser when I grow up. And giving the fact that I live in Indianapolis where it's known for having tornadoes; why not review my favorite tornado film Twister. The film premiered in the summer of 1996 and has a rather interesting cast of actors. Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and no surprise Jami Gertz.
The starts off on a stormy night of June 1969 when a F5 (Fujita scale) tornado appears on an unexpected family. The family rushes to a nearby underground shelter for safety. The door of the shelter begins to loosen, forcing the father to hold it down and you can imagine how that turns out. The door gets ripped off into the twister with the father in tow; this leaves the mother and daughter dramatized. OK out of all the silly things going on in this film this is the scene I'm nitpicking here. Did the father really think that he can hold down a flimsy door with a tornado outside? You would think that living in a tornado area you would have better doors for their shelters. And not only that after the father gets sucked right out; the mother and daughter are perfectly fine. As if the vacuum of that F5 twister just stops right at the doorway. Now I can forgive that director Jan de Bont doesn't understand tornado physics. But my point is that the father sacrifices his life for nothing aside from becoming the biggest dumbass in the film. We cut to present day Oklahoma to see Bill played Bill Paxton (seriously they couldn't come up with a character name for him). He's accompanied by his new fiancee Melissa played by Jami Gertz. Damn it woman stop following me around, although I should be glad that Jason Patric is not in this film. Bill and Melissa arrived at a field station where we meet Jo(who is also the daughter from the start of the film) played by Helen Hunt. The reunion gets cut short when one of Jo's station members gets the call about a possible tornado forming. So Jo and crew pick up and head out while Bill waiting for Jo to sign the divorce papers decided to join them with Melissa in tow. The team crosses paths with the film's douchebag Dr. Jonas Miller played by Cary Elwes. His goal is to take credit for Bill's idea for DOROTHY (a tornado research device) in the pursuit of fame and profit. Mainly throughout the film Bill, Jo and others are attempting to deploy one of these four instrument packs dubbed DOROTHY inside a tornado. If successful they'll have all the data they need to create advance tornado warning systems. Fun fact it's been well known that tornado scientists and storm chasers have created such instrument packs in order to study tornadoes from the inside. So I guess it's safe to say that director Jan de Bont did some research before making this film.
The first two attempts of deploying DOROTHY were unsuccessful due to some extremely close calls. After the second fail attempt the team takes a well deserve break and head out to Wakita where Jo's Aunt Meg (played by Lois Smith) lives. They share a few laughs until a weather report from the TV states that a storm is developing an F3 tornado. The team immediately head to intercept that storm. Once again things didn't go so well when DOROTHY II gets damaged by a falling power pole. It's here that Jo is obsessed of deploying DOROTHY while Bill manages to calm her down. It's night time and team are at a drive-in theater. But then unexpectedly a F4 tornado appears at the drive-in theater; causing the team and movie-goers rushing to a underground shelter. The F4 tornado destroys most of the drive-in theater before moving on. However, the worst is far from over as that same F4 tornado heads to Wakita. After hearing that the tornado is heading to Wakita; the team quickly rushes to Wakita to find the town completely wiped out. Bill and Jo manage to get the injured aunt Meg out of her house before it collapsed. Another weather report states that two storm fronts have combined into one storm creating a really powerful F5. Jo figures out how to make DOROTHY fly; what is it you asked? Well no idea I'm still figuring that out after all these years. Anyway the next morning the team regroups with the two remaining DOROTHYs and went pursuit for the F5 tornado. Some of the scenes are just padding to put some excitement in the last few scenes. Jonas and his wheel-man arrive next to the F5 tornado in position for deployment. However, Bill believes that it might shift its direction and head towards Jonas. Bill tries to warn him but with Jonas being a douchebag he ignores Bill and continues on. A long metal pole fly's through the windshield impaling the driver and the tornado carries the truck away into the air. And if you asked no he didn't survive as the truck crashes in the ground and explodes. With the last DOROTHY left; Bill and Jo intercepts F5 tornado and finally manages to deploy DOROTHY into the tornado successfully getting the much needed data. The final scene is with Bill and Jo running away from the tornado which is really impossible in reality but I digress. They go inside a shed and quickly anchored themselves to some pipelines ultimately surviving the tornado. The film ends with Bill, Jo, and company celebrating on deploying DOROTHY and gathering the new data.
My Final Verdict: Twister is one of those better disaster films that are not over the top with over-saturated CGI or bland character development. Some of logic in this film may be flaw but not to the point of having your intelligence insulted. And through the characters are a bit goofy but really likable. Stay tuned next time as I take you to a school for gifted mutants of the 1990s. That's right next time I'm reviewing Generation X and I promise you Jami Gertz is not in it.
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