|
"The Twisters Are
Awesome. The Movie Is
Not." |
 |
Directed by Jan De Bont
- Written by Michael
Crichton, Anne-Marie
Martin
Starring Helen Hunt,
Bill Paxton, Philip
Seymour Hoffman, Cary
Elwes
Distributed by Warner
Brothers - 1996 -
113mins - Rated PG13 |
|
Richard Propes'
Review
|
 |
C |
|
| |
|
The dark side of nature... |
| |
Moderately
entertaining only if you are into "twisters," this film features
special effects surrounded by a paper-thin script and sub-par
performances by talented people.
Helen Hunt, who we know can act in the right setting, doesn't put much
energy into this performance as a researcher studying tornadoes who
takes her ex-husband, played by Bill Paxton, through Oklahoma chasing
tornadoes. That, my friends, pretty much sums up the plot, the
tension, the emotional resonance of the film. Basically, the entire
film is designed to feature the "Twisters".
Being a fan of "twisters", I found this mildly interesting, and being
a Helen Hunt fan I found ways to keep myself amused even when the film
couldn't. I would say that Jan DeBont directs, but I'm not really
convinced that's what he actually does...I mean, there doesn't seem to
be a whole lot of direction involved here.
The film's sound and visual effects received Oscar nominations, and
justifiably so. Even more justifiably, the film captured two Razzie
Awards...First, for Worst Written Film with over $100 million at the
box office...Secondly, Worst Supporting Actress for Jami Gertz.
As proof of how much this film was just aimed at the "masses", Helen
Hunt won an MTV Movie Award for Best Actress. Wow.
Sadly, my favorite actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman has this film on his
resume. I have to assume this was one of those "paycheck"
jobs...either that or it looked much better on paper. (hard to
imagine).
Special effects...they're awesome...character development? doesn't
exist. Script? Laughable, at best. But, this film is about the special
effects...so, if you find the subject interesting then you might as
well take a peek at this |
| |
|
© Written by Richard Propes -
Email Me! |
TC Candler's Comment
This abysmal
movie resides permanently in my all time Worst
films list. I have never had my
intelligence so insulted by any film before or
since. Everything about this film is
atrocious. It is one of those films that
is so bad that I actually dislike the people who
claim to like it. To use Roger Ebert's
famous quote, "I hated, hated, hated this
movie!"
Jacob Hall's
Comment
If only
the filmmakers had chosen to actually research
tornadoes! No human being can outrun and F5
tornado. You cannot drive right alongside a
twister and expect nothing to happen to you. We
are told that the characters in this film are
experts, but in reality, they would be long
dead. It doesn't help that both Helen Hunt and
Bill Paxton are drier than the desert in their
roles. Why couldn't they have cast Phillip
Seymour Hoffman as the lead? In a supporting
role here, he is the only part of the film that
shines.
|
