Twister

Twister is not your typical disaster movie. Instead of the scientists trying to save the town/world from destruction, these ones are just in it to try and collect more information. But that’s about the only difference. There is the obligatory tragic loss for one of the main characters, as well as the love interest. But, plot isn’t the reason we go watch these movies. After all, you know they are going to succeed in the end, they always do.

There are a bunch of actors in Twister, with Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton filling the main character roles, none of them are the reason for watching the film. The stars are the tornadoes, and there are a lot of them. Big ones, small ones, and even sisters at one point all make for some pretty spectacular visuals, especially when you remember that the film was made in 1996. As well as the tornadoes, there are vast quantities of flying debris, including combine harvesters. These supporting acts really enhance the quality of the experience.

Dodginess

If it was only for the twisters, Twister would probably only rate a 3 on the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man scale. However there are cars, trucks, farm vehicles, and even an exploding petrol tanker, which all add to the dodginess, and push this one up to a respectable 4. Not surprisingly, the dodgiest moment comes as the result of a tornado, and occurs when a cow floats past the truck. This scene also delivers the most memorable quote on the movie, but you’ll have to read about that further down.

Rewatchability Rating

If you are a real fan of disaster movies, you’ll probably be able to pull this one out of the DVD cabinet more often. For me, however, I’d far rather watch something like Bad Boys or Evolution, resulting in Twister getting a 3 on the rewatchability index.

Most Memorable Quote

While there were a couple of lines in Twister that were amusing, like “When I want your opinion I’ll give it to you” it’s not often that a single word really makes an impression. For this reason, the most memorable quote in Twister is “Cow.” The fact that it was delivered as an observation in the film, rather than an exclamation just adds to its appeal.

Final Thoughts

Twister delivers a pretty good disaster movie. If you’re looking for action, romance or comedy you should probably watch something else. However, if you’re looking for random acts of destruction by a force of nature, Twister will foot the bill nicely.