Twister (1996) - An Underrated Classic

Hear me out!

I'm rewatching this film for the umpteenth time tonight and I've realized it's one of those few films that I've truly enjoyed consistently on rewatch. I think it's unfairly criticized and deserves more praise for being one of the best disaster films of the past century.

Let's start out with the main criticism of the film; the love triangle and animosity between Bill, Jo and Melissa. This is easily the most annoying part of the script, however it doesn't take away time from the action for it to occur. All of the conflict occurs either during, directly following or directly preceding the scenes of action, rather than in its own individual scene. Thus, although annoying, it doesn't actually take away from the action. My other main negative is the exposition dump needed during the introduction to the crew in which they introduce Dorothy. Pretty much all of the flaws are a result of the script.

Now, the pros.

The performances and star-power: Philip Seymour Hoffman and Helen Hunt are fantastic in this film. Bill Paxton may overact a tad, however it almost plays to the fun of the movie rather than detract from it. The chemistry with the main crew is incredibly strong, and this can be especially seen in the "Dinner at Aunt Meg's" scene.

The VFX. There is only one VFX shot that has aged poorly to my eyes since its original release, and it comes in the first 5 minutes when we cut to a CGI satellite in space. It simply looks like 1996 CGI. Every weather scene still holds up to this day, and the tornadoes and destruction are simply life-like which is partially a result of the fantastic practical effects.

The score and soundtrack; the score by Mark Mancina plays perfectly to every scene within the movie, and it certainly does not get enough praise. The soundtrack features one of the best songs from the Sammy Hagar era of Van Halen, and an amazing use of Deep Purple's 'Child in Time' about twenty minutes in. Intertwined, they propel the movie and add to the adrenaline rush of the disaster-theme.

The cinematography: the Helicopter Shots. My goodness. In addition, the action is clear, stable and not jarring to watch.

The sound design: this is a sound-system tester by all means.

The fun: The chemistry between the leads and the fantastic quotes make this movie extremely fun to quote. "The suck zone.", "Food!" etc, as well as the great one-liners and overall campiness. "I gotta go, Julia. We've got cows!"

I'm curious to see if any of you agree and/or disagree. This is just my opinion and I'd love to hear some of your thoughts on the film!

 

I agree that this is a highly enjoyable flick. If it is on TV, I will usually leave it on.

Like you said, they did a great job with the supporting cast. You have to be a little crazy to be a storm chaser and everyone they picked play their role extremely well.

My favorite line of the movie is when they are at Aunt Meg's and they see Jonas on the TV, and Dusty (PSF), with a hint of both disgust and pity, deadpans, "God, he sucks." Perfect delivery of such an ordinary line.

 

There’s something weird (IMHO of course) and off-putting about light hearted disaster movies. It felt like the characters in Twister were playing a tornado video game, as opposed to, for instance, Perfect Storm, where the only off-putting element was Diane Lane’s New England accent and the ending felt real and genuinely moving. Same with Deep Impact, especially in Tea Leoni’s final scene, and even something as old school as Towering Inferno.

There need to be consequences in disaster movies, other than villainous characters meeting with comical ends. I enjoyed Twister, but never believed it for a second.

 

Scarlet Johannson factor.
She went on to do better things like Woody's~ Match Point.

 

I think its a great flick! Can't say how many times I've seen it but admit to not having seen it in quite some time.

 

I like its' "immediacy", in the way you're dropped smack into a story that happens like, well, a tornado. In that, it's like Gravity. Hold onto your popcorn - if you've already been told to shut off your cellphone, $#|+'s about to get real-!

 

Loved it and still watch it occasionally.

Music was great going down all those back roads.

I thought Helen Hunt was hot in it.

 

Saw it in the theater in 1996, and later, on a tip, chose the UK Region Free Blu ray, which has a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (24 bit) audio track that makes the room vibrate via my subwoofer.

Love it !

 

In the final scene, when they strap themselves in the pumphouse, I always say to my wife that the tornado should have sucked their pants and shoes off.

jerol

 

Always liked Hoffman's character with the Deep Purple music blaring in his van. I was like, "I know who I'd be riding with!"

 

When my future wife and I moved in together, Twister was the one movie we both had in our DVD collections. So, yeah, we're fans. Basically agree with what has already been said about the special effects, the acting, etc., although there are a couple of things we always joke about:

1. Apparently the absolute worst thing in the world that a storm chaser can do is to get a job as a television weatherman.
2. The other worst thing is having corporate sponsors.

 

underrated? i'd say overrated for me

 

For me, the love triangle thing WAS distracting. But overall, yes, it's a good flick. And PSH could have walked away with the movie if he had more time.

I think it doesn't get a lot of notice these days as HH (by her own design) jumped off the star machine and many of the other names don't have a lot of recognition these days.

 

it set the bar for those big sfx movies....I find the story a little corny and some of the lines are so cheesy but who doesn't love a bit of cheese now and again

 

I get pumped up every time the Van Halen song comes on:

 

A very enjoyable movie! I still think the special effects are great, and they picked a great cast. Maybe I'll dig out my Twister VHS tape later.

The Twister attraction at Universal Studios Florida was one of my favorite attractions in that park. I'm disappointed they got rid of it for a 3D movie screen ride (like they did with the rest of the attractions there except for E.T.)

 

Oddly, the line repeated the most in our house, from this movie, comes from Cary Elwes;
When asked if they will follow the other storm-chasing team, he says, "We do NOT!"
It's such a weird, throw-away line, that when the wife and I say it to each other, it makes us laugh!

edit: Oh...and, the other line is: "....cow..."

 

It's a stupid movie, but the good of stupid.

 

Agree. It's not a classic - underrated or otherwise - but it's good, cheesy entertainment.

Anyone else remember how the movie's trailer made it sound like the twisters were sentient beings? The ads used a scene where the Helen Hunt character said something that implied the tornadoes literally chased people down!

 

A movie so bad it's...still bad.

 

The movie is a lot of fun and sometimes that's all I want when watching a movie.

 

Agreed.

 

Eh, I always found the love triangle stuff to be a secondary story, with chasing the twister being THE story, so it never bothered me.

 

The movie is far more than the sum of its parts would indicate. Most important is its still incredible sound design and there are still those who have collected every home release to compare audio tracks.
And count me in on the "Humans Being" fanclub. One of the best ever VH tracks.

 

I think it's so bad it's good. Cheesy good.