Twister is a rollercoaster of a movie, which is simultaneously its greatest strength and greatest weakness.  The plot and character dynamics are all presented in a very predictable, by-the-numbers fashion and serve chiefly as some sort of narrative glue to connect the big, thrilling tornado set pieces.

As far as the story goes, storm chaser Bill Harding (Bill Paxton), along with his fiancé Melissa (Jami Gertz), returns to the team of scientists he used to run with in order to get ex-wife Jo (Helen Hunt) to sign their divorce papers and finalize the end of their, um, stormy marriage.  But the next thing he knows, Bill’s back with the team, racing after and studying tornados as they rip through Oklahoma.  It’s just like the old days, except now there’s a dastardly rival scientist named (Cary Elwes) named Jonas Miller who’s out to steal Bill’s team’s thunder in research and publicity. 

From a cinematic standpoint, Twister is stellar; the tornados are awe-inspiring (the movie featured some of the first CGI weather), the cinematography beautiful (lest we forget director Jan de Bont served as director of photography on Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October and Basic Instinct), and the sound design sublime (here is a DVD meant to be enjoyed in surround sound).  The tornados lend a level of intensity to the picture that allows us to forget about the silliness of the characters and the storyline.  In deference to a satisfying (albeit mindless) moviegoing experience, moments like a semi falling from the sky, a tractor dealership whipped into the air and cows that are made to fly from heavy winds, mark Twister as a reminder as to why the big tentpole summer action movie even gets made.

The screenplay is another story.  Here’s an aspect of the film that could have benefitted greatly from a once-over.  Aside from its paper-thin plot, the human drama is barely existent (is there even a remote question as to whether or not Bill and Jo will reconcile?).  Characters are so cardboard that Cary Elwes and his crew need to drive a caravan of black SUVs around in order to let the audience know they’re the antagonists.  The movie is also chockfull of glaring, downright awkward moments.  Jami Gertz, taking a cellphone call and carrying on with some wannabe comic dialogue while pursued by a deadly twister, instantly pops to mind.  This attempt at levity in the midst of such an otherwise effective sequence only winds up hindering both the scene and the film.

The two-disc special edition DVD provides a bevy of extras; from commentaries to a making-of featurette to a nature documentary on tornados.  But ultimately, in a bizarre symmetry, the supplementals reflect the movie itself; they’re a whole lot of swirling hoopla that proves to be more flair than substance.