Hard to believe that we’re nearing the 25th anniversary of the release of Twister, a disaster film that is still quite a topic of discussion among cinephiles. A gigantic hit at the time with $495M and a cast led by Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton, some consider it to be a classic while others see it as a silly spectacle. My position is that it’s a little bit of both, and it had a pretty good amusement park ride at Universal Studios. Loved that shit.
That said, I don’t know if anybody wants a Twister reboot, but that’s exactly what we’re getting. Variety reports that Tron: Legacy and Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski is attached to a new take on the disaster film about a group of storm chasers.
Considering Kosinski’s close ties to Tom Cruise, having also directed him in Oblivion, perhaps there’s a chance the A-list actor will sign on to chase down a tornado outbreak? Admit it, you’d watch that shit, too. I can see the posters now with Cruise ducking out of the way of a flying cow.
That said, without a star on Cruise’s level I find it hard to believe a Twister redo will matter much. Disaster movies are a dime a dozen, all utilizing much the same formula. What separated Twister was the strength of its cast, with Hunt and Paxton joined by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz, and more. Sure, the story was pretty generic even by disaster movie standards, but the performances, and some slick direction by Jan de Bont (of Speed 2 and Tomb Raider 2 infamy), kept the thrills at a high level.
