Twister

Given that Jan De Bont hasn’t directed many films, one cannot deny his unhealthy hyperactivity once he sits in the director's chair. Even the direction of grand digital spectacles requires a steady hand - Roland Emmerich could testify to that. De Bont thoroughly indulges in the whirlwind of tornadoes he serves up and at the same time uses them to mask the stagnant story at point zero, penned by Michael Crichton. The heaps of stereotypical scenes and characters drawn from the most run-of-the-mill corners of Crichton's imagination, maybe intentionally, maybe unintentionally, drag down the result of De Bont's work. As an example, take a look at the equipment of the rival tornado hunters. Joe and Bill ride in rundown vans, while rival teams speed down roads and dirt tracks in modern black jeeps, with their crew members dressed in grey uniforms. The characters' traits, lightly sketched at the beginning, remain unchanged throughout the entire film. Their behavior is predictable, similar to Speed, but that film wasn’t as rough as this, which might be due to the fact that there are many more characters in this film than in De Bont's debut. A proper disaster movie needs proper music. The catastrophic nature of the film (in terms of grandeur) can be successfully questioned, but the bombast of Mark Mancini's soundtrack certainly cannot. One can easily dismiss Bill Paxton's overacting and Helen Hunt's attempt at acting without any worries because this film is not about the actors. It's all about enjoying it, but watching two hours of black holes destroying everything that comes their way also requires some patience from the audience. If they had cut out the pseudo-story fluff called solving a marital crisis, I wouldn't hesitate to give it five stars. (06/12/2005)

Those were the times when Jan de Bont could still direct and rightly was considered (albeit briefly) one of the best action directors of all time. Twister is a brilliantly balanced mix of healthy exaggeration, great action, and a touch of romance on top. The skillfully assembled cast, lead by Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, provide the family atmosphere, the visual effects are stunning (the flying cow is legendary), as well as the sound design, and the final scene with the gigantic tornado is absolutely gripping. Naturally, this summer blockbuster doesn’t avoid clichés and light stereotyping, but if they are reasonable, then there's no problem. And Twister is exactly that beautiful, light, and enjoyable commercial entertainment for a wide audience spectrum. (08/02/2006)

A hearty portion of unadulterated Hollywood entertainment that rides hellishly straight from the opening minutes, while also managing to make its characters into little more than artefacts of respectable heroism (although it gets very close to that by the end). The adrenaline master Jan de Bont, with Steven Spielberg as producer, is very much felt here; hand in hand with the great actors, the even better visual effects and a script not so stupid as to turn the delicious form into heartless and gratuitous audiovisual masturbation. Cheaper, yet intoxicating and effective cinematic art... 85% (05/31/2012)

A template rehearsed a thousand times, only that the mutated beasts has been replaced by a natural phenomenon. The script is full of clichés, the resolution of Helen Hunt's emotional problems did not interest me, but the amazing visual effects (for the time) save the day. Three points for the tornado and another one for the flying cow :) (04/21/2003)

Twister is an intelligent, lively and brisk adventure with a very likable central duo of characters (and actors). It’s just a matter of who to praise for it. Probably everyone involved to an equal extent. Steven Spielberg’s production signature drips from every pore of the film. Director Jan de Bont makes good use of the cinematographer’s skills and the visual-effects team creates beautiful tornadoes. After all, those are the film’s main characters! (08/14/2003)