The '90s In Action! - 'Twister' (1996)

Producer and director Steven Spielberg was originally set to direct “Twister” under his Amblin Entertainment company. He was sold on the movie by a proof-of-concept clip from Industrial Light & Magic involving tornadoes. Spielberg eventually stepped down into a producing role and directors such as Robert Zemeckis and James Cameron were considered for the project.

Eventually, though, Spielberg saw the success of “Speed” and decided to hire Jan de Bont to helm the picture. After reading the script, de Bont decided that it was right up his alley. He also knew that the visual effects would have to be state-of-the-art.

A major part of this was due to the fact that new software had to be developed to make the tornadoes and the destruction that they caused. This was one of the first major films to use particle animation to bring forth destruction such as one early scene where a barn is ripped to shreds. Another obstacle was the constant film movement.

Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton chase tornadoes in 'Twister'!

In previous films, filmmakers had to try and limit how much the camera could move for some shots so that the visual effects could be applied more easily to the scene. Here, de Bont wanted more movement and action because this was a frantic chase movie that required a lot of speed. Therefore, it was harder on the animators at ILM but they made it work in a big way.

Another key part of this movie was the casting. De Bont wanted Helen Hunt for the main female lead, but the studios were reluctant to hire her. They noted that she had only been on “Mad About You” and during this time, actors rarely transferred from TV to film and vice versa. However, de Bont’s constant support ultimately secured her the role.

Tom Hanks was initially asked to play the film’s male lead, but he turned it down. He then suggested that Paxton go for the role. Being from Texas where tornadoes are more common, Paxton enjoyed the energy of the script and quickly signed on.

The extensive special effects were created by ILM.

The movie became a massive success when it was finally released in ‘96. It went on to gross over $495 million and its legacy still lasts today. In fact, a standalone sequel, “Twisters”, is set to come out soon so I’ve decided to take a look back at this original classic.

For those who may not have seen the movie, we follow storm chasers Jo Harding (Hunt) and Bill Harding (Paxton) as they are going through a divorce. When Bill arrives to get the signed divorce papers at the site where Jo and her team are getting ready to chase tornadoes, she reveals that she has finally built “Dorothy”, a storm tracking device that Bill helped develop.

The device could help develop earlier warning signals and allow them to learn more about how a tornado really works. Unfortunately, a rival storm chaser Jonas Miller (Cary Elwes) has developed a similar device based off of their design and he is also set to release it when the storm starts to generate tornadoes. Bill decides to give Jo one day to get Dorothy off the ground in order to beat Jonas to the punch.

The danger is real as our heroes find they are the ones being chased!

Admittedly, the plotline involving Jonas is a bit generic and Jonas is a bit of a cardboard cutout villain, but Elwes manages to make the slimy character work. Also, you can tell that the whole Dorothy storyline is just there to propel the action but it serves its purpose well enough.

The visual effects in the movie are almost 30 years old and they hold up surprisingly well today. I can’t say that you don’t see the seams sometimes and they have aged, but they’ve definitely aged better than other visual effects heavy films from the day. I think this movie is helped by the fact that de Bont tried to capture everything that he could in camera and only used the visual effects when absolutely necessary.

Another thing that works in this movie is the eccentric group of people that we follow. Actors such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alan Ruck, Jeremy Davies, Joey Slotnick, Todd Field, Scott Thomson, and Wendle Josepher play the support team to Jo and Bill and you really enjoy following them on this adventure.

Then, there are our two leads. This film ended up becoming a signature film for both Hunt and Paxton. They have great chemistry with one another and you genuinely want to root for them. They handle the action that the film throws at them flawlessly and it is sad that we won’t be able to get a sequel with them due to Paxton’s death in 2017.

At the end of the day, this film has earned its classic status. It inspired a new wave of disaster films and inspired some fans to get into meteorology. Its visual effects were groundbreaking, the action is fierce, and the performances are fun. It is a rollercoaster ride that is most definitely worth getting on if you never have before or revisiting if you haven’t been on this particular ride in a while.