Twister has a worthy premise, some thrilling action sequences, and a great deal of potential, yet disappointingly is a film that adds up to less than the sum of its parts. Tornadoes cut swathes of devastation through mid-USA every year and television audiences the world over are shocked and yet strangely titillated by the resulting newsreel footage. So as a film following a group of (fictional) storm chasers as they attempt to scientifically measure a tornado from the inside (with a view to improving the warning systems), Twister has all the ingredients of an extraordinary viewing experience. It is certainly fast-paced and exciting, but also regrettably formulaic.
Cliches abound - cute dogs saved from imminent peril; chaser crews composed of stereotypical weirdo science nerds; a daring rescue from a destroyed house seconds before it collapses; some unexorcised trauma about a father's death-by-tornado; Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt cheating death innumerable times, even as the bad guys (rival tornado chasers) succumb. . . . . . . . ..
The special effects are what save this film from mediocrity. The tornadoes are frighteningly real and the debris showers (including a cow and a petrol tanker) will have audiences ducking for cover. And unlike many disaster films that seem to drag as they build to a climax, the tornadoes in Twister appear right from the word go. Bizarrely the soundtrack to the tornadoes was made by dubbing a camel's groan and slowing it down - resulting in some rather odd sounding twisters. By the time the camel is finally silenced and the story reaches its predictable conclusion, the cliches and improbabilities threaten to overwhelm, and the film ultimately fails to completely satisfy.
Cliches abound - cute dogs saved from imminent peril; chaser crews composed of stereotypical weirdo science nerds; a daring rescue from a destroyed house seconds before it collapses; some unexorcised trauma about a father's death-by-tornado; Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt cheating death innumerable times, even as the bad guys (rival tornado chasers) succumb. . . . . . . . ..
The special effects are what save this film from mediocrity. The tornadoes are frighteningly real and the debris showers (including a cow and a petrol tanker) will have audiences ducking for cover. And unlike many disaster films that seem to drag as they build to a climax, the tornadoes in Twister appear right from the word go. Bizarrely the soundtrack to the tornadoes was made by dubbing a camel's groan and slowing it down - resulting in some rather odd sounding twisters. By the time the camel is finally silenced and the story reaches its predictable conclusion, the cliches and improbabilities threaten to overwhelm, and the film ultimately fails to completely satisfy.