ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, May 11, 1996 TAG: 9605130029
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
"Twister" does everything you could ask of a big-budget special-effects blockbuster. And in this case, "blockbuster" is more literal than metaphorical. Think the Weather Channel version of "Jurassic Park."
As simple in its construction as "Jaws," the film is about tornadoes and people who chase them. Bill (Bill Paxton) and Jo Harding (Helen Hunt) are scientists - the generic kind of scientists commonly found in Hollywood movies - involved in tornado research. They're also at the end of a divorce. Bill and his new girlfriend Melissa (Jamie Gertz) drive out to rural Oklahoma to get Jo to sign the last papers.
They find that Jo and her team are about to launch "Dorothy," a device that will be sucked up into a funnel cloud where it will transmit back valuable data. If it works, tornado prediction will take a giant step forward. At the same time, a group of evil, corporate-sponsored scientists led by Jonas (Cary Elwes) have prepared their own version of "Dorothy."
As massive storms build and develop into tornadoes, the two teams go dashing along country roads and through cornfields to place one of their gizmos in just the right spot. The trick is to put it in the path of a storm without getting caught themselves.
And, boy, do they run into storms!
The effects, created by George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic, are impressive and varied. The film builds steadily from sinuous double funnels to all sorts of animals and objects flying through the air to the climactic mother-of-all-tornadoes. Created by wind machines, computers and everything else in Hollywood's bag of tricks, those effects are seamlessly woven into the human action.
Between storms, director Jan De Bont shows the same soaring flair for action and movement that made "Speed" so much fun. Virtually the entire story takes place outside and De Bont makes the most of the flat landscape and the threatening slate-gray sky that covers it.
When the script by Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin shifts to the characters and their personal problems, it's clumsy at worst, stereotypical at best. The leads and the supporting cast are fine character actors, so they're able to make the best of the thin beer they've been given. Still, the key emotional moments have a hollow, perfunctory ring.
When the film refers to other films, it actually becomes much more sincere. Of course, references to "The Wizard of Oz" are scattered throughout, and De Bont also uses "The Shining" and "A Star Is Born." That's appropriate.
No one should expect penetrating psychological analysis or fully developed, original characters from this kind of entertainment. "Twister" is flashy cinematic escapism and that's all it's meant to be.
Sit close to the screen and hold onto your popcorn.
Twister ***
A Warner Bros./Universal/Amblin' Entertainment Production playing at the Salem Valley 8 and Valley View 6. 106 minutes. Rated PG-13 for weather violence, strong language.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton get blown away in "Twister."by CNBcolor