On the surface, Twister looks like any other 90s summer blockbuster. It comes from a time when the big summer tentpoles could draw millions with nothing but state-of-the-art special effects, likeable movie stars, and great marketing. Unlike most 90s box-office smashes however, Twister took this formula literally. Twister is nothing but actors and effects. And yet somehow, despite not having any story to speak of, despite not having a single coherent character arc, and despite not having an actual beginning, middle, or end, Twister is, against all odds, pretty enjoyable.Twister is about a team of storm chasers, including ones played by Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt. There is your plot summary. Yes there are evil storm chasers and ex-wives and stuff, but I must reiterate; Nothing actually happens in Twister. Well, nothing beyond storms and people chasing them. It is almost shocking how simplistic a film Twister is. It begins with a tornado, and keeps throwing tornadoes at the screen until the audience has got their fill. The script was written in part by Michael Crichton, my favorite author, and I prefer to imagine the final result is not his fault. Maybe I'm right, seeing as the elements associated with Crichton: the science of storm chasing and the professional love triangle, are simply along for the ride in a script that goes as follows: Storm happens, characters chase storm, characters rest, storm happens again, and repeat.But remember, Twister is enjoyable. Attribute that to those ever-present storms. Tornadoes have never looked cooler. The special effects from ILM were top of the line in 1996, and they still look remarkable. Tornadoes on land, tornadoes on water, tornadoes in the town, tornadoes in the fields, they all look like the real deal. They're massive, frightening, and spectacular in the truest sense of the word; they are a spectacle to see. It's all fun, of course, and director Jan de Bont doesn't hold back. You get your money's worth out of the action in Twister. Things may get repetitive after the fifth tornado pops up, but hey, nobody can claim that there aren't enough set-pieces. And de Bont stages the scenes well. We've seen plenty of CGI disaster flicks, but few of them have captured the thrill of being inside a powerful force of nature the way Twister does.There throughout all the mayhem are Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, two strong movie personalities, whose enthusiasm for the storm chasing material carries the picture. Let's face it, they don't do much acting here, but they are easy to get along with on screen. For two people asked to hold our hands through a parade of extreme weather, you'd be hard pressed to find better. Phillip Seymour Hoffman also has a small but colorful role as another storm lover, and he provides some needed humor. The cast sells their characters' passion for science, and it almost becomes infectious.Twister is little more than a special effects demo reel. I'm serious. It allots virtually no time to story or characters, relying instead on a series of regularly scheduled tornadoes to stand in for a plot. The effects are great, and the characters around them are livelier than most, but I won't pretend like the movie doesn't flat out ignore some key elements. Twister is not very good, but by disaster movie standards, it is more effective than most. Its twisters are impeccably realized through some impressive CGI, and they are thrilling to behold. In some ways, I admire the decision to focus solely on the tornadoes. Sure, it runs the risk of getting stale, but at least nobody leaves Twister asking "Where were the storms?!"67/100

I've gone storm chasing before and this movie really entails how that mother nature can create an angry sky and just as angry people. The graphics are good, dialogue's good, plot is okay, and is an all and all genuine movie. While it's not a very much of a feel good movie, it's a movie showing just how chaotic weather and your own life can get.

"Twister" stars Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton as Dr. Jo Harding and Bill Harding, whom are investigating and chasing an immensely intense series of tornadoes. Scenes in "Twister" were relatively accurate, yet horrific portrayals of how twisters and tornadoes are perceived and experienced. The main storm chasers, Dr. Jo Harding and Bill Harding, speak of series of storms occurring in one of the beginning settings of the movie. They are both storm chasers and are expecting tornadoes to arrive after the sky begins to show signs of a tornado forming. Watchers can see the lightning and the dark clouds in the sky behind the characters during the beginning of the movie. This weather is similar to how clouds of debris begin to form today before tornadoes. The scenes of the tornado show dust clouds forming around the tunnel of the tornadoes and the darkish green clouds and sky that surround it. This is an accurate portrayal of real-life tornadoes and how they look from afar. However, it shows debris being blown away from the tornado when in reality it should have been sucked into the tornado itself. This portrayal of the tornado was inaccurate and not scientifically correct. Also, the sounds of the tornadoes in the movie are inaccurate to how real tornadoes should sound. Real tornadoes have a roaring sound and sound as if a train was near. However, in the movie, they used sounds that didn't have this train engine sound.Dr. Jo Harding and her fellow storm chasers were preparing to follow these tornadoes in their "tornado proof" vehicles. Storm chasers today use these tactics when chasing storms. They guard themselves with these tornado proof vehicles along with their many computerized machines to help dictate and describe the characteristics of the inside of a tornado in a closer perspective. This is a true representation of how storm chasers are seen today. The precautions the characters took in "Twister" accurately displayed those actions an everyday citizen should take. Hiding in underground cellars, driving and moving away from the direction the tornado seems to be going, and listening to radio and television announcements that are being put out about the weather and precautions one should take in order to not be harmed or killed. I learned a few lessons from this movie: don't be a storm chaser unless you plan on close death or actual death, and don't believe that all things which happen in movies will happen in real-life situations and circumstances. Although "Twister" had its inaccurate scenes, it was a relatively realistic movie and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.

I felt bad watching Eddie's death at the hand of negligent Jonas, and that scene could be due for a reboot now that CGI has moved on since the movie's release in 1996. I wonder what Jonas's last words were when his vehicle (with the lifeless of Eddie) was tossed into the ground. When I watch this scene, it reminds me of the deaths of others in real life Twisters. This movie should be dedicated to everyone who goes out and chases storms.