Twister

1996  Warner Brothers

Rated:  PG-13

Length:  1  hr  53min

Action ~ Adventure ~ Thriller

Directed by:  Jan de Bont

Starring:  Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes, Lois Smith, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alan Ruck and Sean Whalen.

“When you said you chased tornadoes, deep down I always thought it was just a metaphor.”

Helen Hunt star as Dr. Jo Harding, a Meteorologist in Oklahoma leading a group of storm chasers. Having lost her Dad to an F5 Tornado when she was very young, she has been obsessed with chasing tornadoes and trying to figure out what makes them tick. If she figures out the secret to a tornado’s make-up, she might be able to find a way to predict them better. Which would lead to better early warning systems and save people’s lives. Jo and her team are attempting to launch “Dorothy” for the first time, a device that contains hundreds of small sensors into a tornado. They are gathered together preparing Dorothy when her estranged husband………….

Bill (Bill Paxton) shows up in his brand new red Dodge Ram pick-up truck and his fiancé Melissa (Jami Gertz). Bill got tired of chasing tornadoes and arguing with Jo, so he moved away to the city to become a Weatherman. He has come to get Jo to sign the divorce papers she has stalled on. Before Bill can get Jo to sign the papers, she shows him Dorothy. He immediately gets excited because Dorothy was his invention, and just then there is word of a big tornado touching down nearby. They all race to hit the road so they can launch Dorothy into the tornado and Bill just can’t not be a part of it and joins in the hunt.

And what follows is a thrilling chase through the Oklahoma countryside chasing the perfect tornado to launch Dorothy in. To make the chase even more thrilling, there is another storm chasing team that is Bill’s old rival from the past. He has developed technology that looks just like Dorothy and the race is on to be the first to change Tornado technology. The action is non-stop as they get dangerously close to tornadoes trying to launch Dorothy. Bill was always something of a Tornado whisperer, Jo’s team calls him “The Extreme”, and leads them in the right direction while his rival is often a step behind.

I remember seeing this when it first came out. Back in the day I probably saw it half a dozen times. I have to say almost thirty years later it still holds it’s own. The close-up of the tornadoes and the noise is terrifying. And the CGI still holds up, the tornadoes look like giant mad demons picking up and throwing everything in their path. I witnessed a waterspout one time, it appeared very suddenly and we were way closer than I wanted to be. I’ll never forget the sound and the sight of it. It is definitely an entity all it’s own. So powerful, I can’t imagine being anywhere near an f3,4 or 5 tornado.

Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton were perfect in this movie, the real deal. The rest of the cast were awesome as well, Jo’s team had some very young unknowns at the time who later became very popular. Philip Seymour-Hoffman for one. I loved and still love everything about it, even the soundtrack. A classic in my opinion. I would definitely recommend it, especially before the new movie Twisters, which I just saw yesterday. I should have watched Twister first. Either way they are both really good movies.

Highly Recommended.

Two Thumbs Up.

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