Twister

Directed by Jan de Bont, Twister follows estranged storm chasers Jo (Helen Hunt) and Bill (Bill Paxton) as they put aside their differences to get their advanced weather-alert system off the ground. Filmmaker de Bont, working from Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin’s screenplay, delivers a blisteringly-paced blockbuster that benefits rather substantially from the affable, compelling work of its various performers, with Hunt and Paxton’s predictably engaging efforts matched by a agreeably eclectic supporting cast that includes, among others, Cary Elwes, Alan Ruck, Jami Gertz, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. (The latter, cast as a boisterous member of Jo’s team, is certainly as commanding and compelling as one might’ve expected.) And although de Bont has packed the proceedings with a number of genuinely exciting sequences, including an unexpected tense interlude involving a tornado and a drive-in movie theater, Twister admittedly does suffer from a somewhat repetitive, one-note feel that’s compounded by an overlong running time and total absence of subplots – with the rather relentless emphasis on the characters’ storm-chasing exploits paving the way for a narrative that is, at times, fairly exhausting. The picture climaxes with an over-the-top yet effective final stretch that ensures it concludes on a positive (and thoroughly satisfying) note, which cements Twister‘s place as a decent-enough endeavor that generally fares better than anticipated.

*** out of ****