Twister

Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt and Carey Elwes may be billed as the stars of Twister, but the film's real attractions are the cyclones themselves. Best experienced in a theater, the nail-biting, blow-the-audience-out-of-their-seats computer generated graphics, cutting edge sound and other special effects are designed to take viewers straight into the roaring funnel of a gigantic tornado. In order to focus on special effects and action, the story is simple and the characters are drawn in broad strokes with little depth. Jo Harding (Hunt) became a storm chaser (a meteorologist who photographs and scientifically studies tornadoes in the field) after a large twister sucked her hapless daddy into oblivion when she was a girl. Bill (Paxton) was a storm chaser too, but left to become a successful weatherman. His change of profession ruined his marriage to Jo. Before separating, the Hardings invented DOROTHY, a gizmo designed to release thousands of tiny sensors when a tornado passes over it. The Hardings hope the information transmitted by the sensors will provide insight into the nature of the whirling windstorms. Backed by a large corporation, the villainous Dr. Jonas Miller (Elwes) has created a similar machine. Neither gadget has been field tested and both groups of storm chasers are anxious to find tornadoes. At the peak of the worst twister season in decades, Bill shows up at Jo's truck with his prissy fiancee Melissa (Jami Gertz) so Jo can sign divorce papers. Suddenly a twister is spotted. With little hesitation, Bill rejoins the mad rush to reach it in time to activate DOROTHY. Jonas and his team are right behind them. Throughout the day the storms become worse and the rivalrous race becomes more intense. As they continue facing incredible dangers together Jo and Bill find renewed love while poor Melissa finds only an intense desire to get away from these storm-obsessed lunatics. — Sandra Brennan

It's tempting to point out that story often takes precedence over character in the works of author Michael Crichton, but that's letting the best-selling writer off the hook too easily. It's a lot like saying that the wheels take precedence over the engine in the design of an automobile: Either way, the car isn't going anywhere. Character and story are inextricably linked in the best storytelling, which is why so much of this big-budget special effects blockbuster falls woefully flat. Most of the characters here are really types, not people, crafted to serve the story's two purposes: explain mounds of technological and meteorological gobbledygook, or stand in awe of nature's fury (and then flee from same) when it makes its frequent onscreen appearances. Particularly annoying is the profusion of quip-prone supporting players. Unforgivably wasted among their number is superior character actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, playing a bizarre, hyperactive, and utterly distracting character named Dusty who needs Ritalin much more than a job chasing tornadoes. The romantic subplot between leads Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt isn't very involving and the attempts to personalize their professional endeavors by making her the victim of a childhood trauma and he the possessor of some Obi Wan Kenobi-like magical ability to predict a twister's path are laughable. Twister (1996) became infamous during its production for the staggering number of screenwriters hired to re-draft and polish its ailing story and the final result shows it. While visually impressive in its cutting-edge digital effects, the film displays little heart and soul, a stark reminder of the direction mainstream motion pictures are heading in the late 20th century. — Karl Williams