Tornado! (1996) (TV)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

Noel Nosseck

Writer (WGA):

John Logan (written by)

Release Date:

7 May 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

Hell has no fury like a twister.

Plot:

An accountant sent to produce an evaluation of a tornado research project, and the scientist running the project pursue tornadoes and each other.

Plot Keywords:

Research | Tornado | Storm | Scientist | Disaster

Cast

Bruce Campbell	...	Jake Thorne
Shannon Sturges	...	Samantha 'Sam' Callen
Ernie Hudson	...	Dr. Joe Branson
L.Q. Jones	...	Ephram Thorne
Bo Eason	...	Tex Fulton
Charles Homet	...	Richie Cochran
Carrie Boren	...	Mattie Peck
Aaron Izbicki	...	Oliver Nessle
John Mansfield	...	Andy Ward
Jeannie Fitzsimmons	...	Margie Ward
Julie Erickson	...	Zeena
Steve Flanagin	...	Mr. Peck
Mona Lee Fultz	...	Mrs. Peck
Carmen Nogales	...	Lucy's Mother
Shannon Woodward	...	Lucy

MPAA:

Rated PG for some perilous weather sequences and mild language.

Runtime:

89 min | UK:84 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Hallmark Entertainment

Trivia:

The house used in the film is the same homestead used in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The movie and storms take place in northern Texas, but during the final storm, radar images of the northern Illinois counties around Chicago and Rockford, and Colorado are used.

Quotes:

Jake Thorne: Hey, are we flirting here?
Sam Callen: If we are, we're rusty as hell.
Jake Thorne: Nothing a little oil won't fix.

Soundtrack:

I'm Worth It

Better than 'Twister'

We all know what the problem is with disaster movies: they never look like the real thing. If you've seen a documentary about storm chasers, every movie you see about tornadoes just doesn't feel real. The same here, although I have to admit that I liked it more than Twister. The reason why I think this one is better is because it tries to be faithful to the reality, while in Twister all that mattered were the spectacular special effects.

"Tornado!" tells the story of Dr. Branson who has developed a device that can do a lot of measurements when it is placed in the middle of a tornado. Of course his team receives money from the government for that, but the government wants to see results. Sam Callen is sent to Texas to shut down Dr. Branson's project, but gives him a few days to come up with some results for him to be able to continue his project.

Of course the team is made up by a naive scientist, a nerd and some cowboys, while Sam Callen is a yuppie that has no interest in tornadoes, but only thinks about her job and the results she has to book. I guess I don't have to make a drawing of what is going to happen next: she's always in a fight with one of the storm chasers, but in the end they fall in love... I guess that's the way Hollywood thinks it always goes.

As I already said the storms aren't the real deal and the story is predictable, but at least it isn't as unbelievable as Twister. And we have to take into account that the makers of Twister had a much bigger budget than the people who did this movie. That's why I give this movie a score of 5,5/10.