“Twisters” Review
(From Left) Daisy Edgar Jones, Anthony Ramos and Glen Powell play storm chasers outrunning an epidemic of deadly tornados in “Twisters”, a stand-alone sequel to the 1996 disaster movie classic.
The original “Twister” is the perfect definition of a popcorn movie. I especially loved Roger Ebert’s description of the film from his two-and-a-half star “thumb’s up” review. “You want loud, dumb, skillful, escapist entertainment? ‘Twister’ works. You want to think? Think twice about seeing it.” From the fun chases to the weird supporting characters, including a deeply Southern evil Cary Elwes and the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman giving it his all as the irreverent Dusty, “Twister” is the mindless kind of fun I love. Nearly 30 years later, a standalone sequel has emerged and, like James Cameron’s “Aliens”, “Twisters” is smart enough to just pluralize the threat to come across as epic. Thanks to the skills of the great director Lee Issac Chung, a troupe of great actors and special effects that make the most improbable series of natural disasters possible, “Twisters” is a whole lot of excitement wrapped up in that infectious smile of star Glen Powell.
As a series of tornadoes strike Oklahoma, Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar Jones), a meteorologist and former storm chaser, returns to her home state from New York at the insistence of her old comrade Javi (Anthony Ramos). With a terrible mistake she made five years prior in the field weighing heavily on her, Kate is promised by Javi a chance to gather some incredible data that could change the way we respond to tornadoes. While hunting down these cyclones, Kate, Javi and their team encounter a rag-tag group of storm chasers led by Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) a.k.a. “Tornado Wrangler” who practice more gritty and unconventional methods. When presented with an opportunity to take down a tornado, the wranglers and the PhDs must work together to save lives. All in the name of science.
One question that most will ask is whether or not “Twisters” is better than the original film. I think that this new story stands well enough on its own, with only a handful of callbacks to “Twister”, that comparing the two feels almost pointless. I don’t know if “Twisters” is superior but one thing it could never capture was the ridiculous energy that only the 1990s could bring. But I was just as entertained by this new entry as I was by the original.
I may love the original “Twister”, but even I can admit that not everything in the film works for me. When Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt are chasing storms together, they’re engaging but I detest the scenes where they bicker even though the entire audience knows they’ll get back together while poor Jami Gertz has nothing to work with as Paxton’s inevitably dumped fiancée. Truth be told, I always found the supporting characters to be more endearing. This is where the genius of “Twisters” comes in. The film not only updates a lot of the technology used to chase storms and gather data but certain character dynamics are tweaked to feel more fresh.
A big example of this is the relationship between Kate Carter and Tyler Owens. They don’t become a couple in the movie and that’s for the best. While Daisy Edgar Jones and Glen Powell do have strong chemistry, I like that this film focuses on them developing a friendship, despite their different styles of working, and Kate regaining her confidence in the field following a traumatic incident that caused her to retire from storm chasing. If I had to engage with another obvious “will they, won’t they” scenario, I would have flipped out so I’m glad that “Twisters” didn’t take this route.
While they’re not a couple, Daisy Edgar Jones and Glen Powell are excellent leads alongside an outstanding cast of scientists and thrill-seekers. After wowing audiences in “Where the Crawdads Sing” and “Under the Banner of Heaven”, it is good to see Jones in a summer blockbuster with a strong passion for storm chasing while also grounding the story with her acting. Her character arc was quite compelling and manages to transcend the mindless energy you’d expect for a film like this.
And then there’s Glen Powell, a man who makes all people, regardless of sexuality, incredibly thirsty and I don’t mean for Coca-Cola. In all seriousness, the recent trajectory of Powell’s career has been a joy to watch and, with recent performances in “Anyone But You” and “Hit Man” (the latter he cowrote), it has been well-earned. From his charming banter with Kate to the manic energy he has as a tornado wrangler, Tyler Owens is the ideal foil to the by-the-book Kate with neither of them diving into caricature.
But we just don’t see a movie like “Twisters” for the leads, we also want a weird as hell crew that gallantly ride trucks into storms and this film has plenty of that. People like Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea and Katy O’Brian star in the film and their presence is greatly appreciated. If there were any more likable faces in “Twisters”, I’m convinced that their sheer charisma would be enough to demolish any tornado.
While director Lee Issac Chung’s venture into blockbuster entertainment does feel like a bold new step for him, especially when compared to his previous film “Minari”, he has a strong attachment to this part of the country and the way Oklahoma is depicted is nothing short of excellent. This is a beautiful looking film and, despite the exciting effects and destruction, I appreciated how Chung and screenwriter Mark L. Smith focus on the death and devastation that these disasters bring and why the work of these storm chasers matter. These people aren’t just doing this for the thrill, they’re conducting research to figure out how tornadoes work so they can be predicted and even defeated. It gives the characters a strong set of morals and shows the danger they face.
“Twisters” certainly has its share of suspenseful action but also keeps things fun. This is the kind of movie that was made for summer screens and large buckets of popcorn with a two hour runtime that flies by. Even when the film has to slow down to focus on character development, you don’t care because people like Kate and Tyler are just so interesting. You’re not scratching your seat wondering where the tornadoes are at.
The film is also smart enough to not rely too much on the original film’s iconic status. There are a few in-jokes but if you’ve never seen “Twister”, you can still enjoy the hell out of this film. Of course that would mean you’d miss out on Aunt Meg’s famous gravy, which is practically a food group, but that’s your loss. As far as blockbuster film goes, “Twisters” is the perfect film for this moment in time. It’s not trying to be a groundbreaking action film like “Top Gun: Maverick” or “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One” and that’s okay. All “Twisters” is trying to be is fucking awesome and it succeeds.
