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Twister (1996)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
12/07, 8/21
12/07:
The very first film to be released on DVD in the United States, Twister is on-the-edge-of-your-seat
entertainment but is, of course, unrealistic.
The acting isn't bad and manages to stay on an even keel with the special effects that are both outstanding and
not-so-outstanding. Philip Seymour Hoffman is primarily responsible for setting the tone of the film. Without him, it
won't have been fun with everybody else.
Given the debris that's constantly flying around, I find it hard to believe nobody was hit by them. Worse, there's no way
anyone can outrun a tornado, especially when it's an F-5. Regardless, I've had a good time, and it's often
dramatic. The coolest scene is the cow flying in the air.
All in all, inaccuracies or not, Twister is one of the most thrilling action pictures I've seen.
8/21:
For an action-adventure disaster picture, Twister is dramatic, but most of it has been unbelievable.
The combination of great acting and terrific, if a bit fake, special effects (which lost out to
Independence Day for Best Visual Effects Oscar) is what makes this fast and entirely watchable. I have to say
Philip Seymour Hoffman is the best of the cast, mainly for setting the tone.
When I say the film is "unbelievable," what's happening doesn't make sense. Now, let's think about this: if the
sensors are released to track the mostly useless technical information, how exactly is an advance warning system developed?
As simple as the concept may be, how come nobody had accomplished it in twenty-five years since the film was released? Yeah,
they tried the same thing in 1984, but it never worked. Today, tornado prediction is still not a reality.
Of course, Twister is famous for one scene: the flying cow. It's cool to see that, and it does happen in real life. So
are the scenes when tornadoes are happening and trucks are riding closely alongside them. Yet I don't get it. Why aren't they
lifted up in the air? Trucks aren't that tough or invulnerable as people believe them to be.
So much debris is flying in the air, everybody's eyes are open yet are never hit. It's impossible. They should be wearing
goggles. Many of the survival tactics shown on the film are either questionable or plain wrong. Houses directly hit by an F-5
tornado are almost always completely wrecked, and a high percentage of people will die.
By the way, when Jo's father was killed after mentioning the tornado might be an F-5, it was 1969, but the Fujita
Scale wasn't developed until two years later. Nobody can classify a tornado by looking at it until a damage survey has been
conducted afterwards. And absolutely nobody can predict for sure whether or not a tornado will appear the next day.
Jami Gertz was named the worst supporting actress. I disagree. In fact, she's a perfect representative of what the audience is
feeling. I don't blame her for abruptly leaving the scene because this tornado-chasing fetish is weird.
Also, it's surprising to see two now-dead actors (Bill Paxton and Philip Seymour Hoffman) while they were relatively young,
and the movie isn't even that old.
All in all, I don't care about the negatives because Twister is a damn fine movie.