Twisters

The Plot: Having suffered a disastrous set-back, storm-chaser Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) has now resigned herself to a desk job. She’s coaxed back into the game by former colleague Javi (Anthony Ramos), who has further developed their team’s technology to analyse tornados more accurately. They head for the tornado alley of Oklahoma in the hope of finding a way to dissipate a tornado’s destructive power. They’re not alone. Competing with them is ‘tornado wrangler’ and all-round good ol’ boy Tyler (Glen Powell) who broadcasts live online as he heads straight into the eye of the storm…

The Verdict: When Twister came out in 1996, it was an ideal summer movie that made excellent use of visual effects but also grounded itself in a relatable story of people pulling together when faced with the unpredictable wrath of Mother Nature. It was a box office smash and inevitably there was talk of a sequel for many years, with original stars Bill Paxton and more recently Helen Hunt trying to get a sequel into the air like a flying cow. While those ideas have blown away in the wind, a way forward has been found with Twisters. Director Lee Isaac Chung has been coy about what it is though. There are no returning characters  from the original (though one part could very well have been played by Hunt). It’s not exactly a sequel and it’s not exactly a remake either. It certainly tips its cowboy hat at the original, acknowledging the Dorothy device in the opening sequence and a key storm sequence involving a cinema playing an iconic horror film.

It would be best to describe Twisters as playing around with the idea of the next generation of tornado-chasers and what that might look like in the 21st Century. There’s high-tech stuff involving drones, live feeds and the triangulation of special sensors that could predict its path and potential outcomes. That’s just window-dressing though, as Chung has latched onto the core of what made the original tick over – characters to care about and a slightly off-kilter sense of humour. All the visual effects in the world won’t matter if the characters are made of cardboard and can be knocked over in the wind. The script by Mark L. Smith and Joseph Kosinksi establishes a past guilt complex for Kate, but it’s also a motivator for her to effect real change in the weather patterns. There’s a sparky relationship between her and the brash Tyler, starting out as fiercely competitive rivals before putting their heads together to find a solution.

The film benefits greatly from Daisy Edgar-Jones, who brings some frantic gravitas and intelligence to her role. She holds the screen against rising star Glen Powell, their natural chemistry apparent from early on. On paper, Tyler is the kind of reckless and foolhardy character that might otherwise grind on the nerves. Not in Powell’s capable hands though. His natural charisma and movie-star looks bring more to the character than what’s on the page, allowing the character to grow beyond just getting online views and selling t-shirts. That’s a mark of Chung’s talent as a director of actors, making a big step-up from his Oscar-winning charmer Minari. That said, he’s still able to wrangle the visual effects and action sequences into thrilling and propulsive scenes involving twin tornadoes, fire and wide-scale destruction – from a ground-level perspective with an eye on the human impact. Such scenes of televised natural disaster aftermaths have only increased since the original was made, so Chung achieves a respectful balance.

For what it’s worth, Twisters doesn’t have all that much to say that’s new or dynamic – other than to suggest that we’re still learning about tornadoes. While the visual effects have improved a good deal and there’s some new tech, the story feels very much rooted in a 1990s summer blockbuster. In a time when nostalgia can often be overplayed, there is some comfort to be taken from a big summer blockbuster that knows not to stray from the dirt road, just go with the air flow and see where it lands. Of which, it lands firmly in the entertaining popcorn movie category and is a good night at the movies. Strap yourself in and hold on tight.

Rating: 3 / 5

Review by Gareth O’Connor