Remember when subgenre disaster movies were all the rage back in the ‘90s? Any director will have a blast showing destruction with no sense of logic found. One of the few that had that lasting impact had to be 1996’s Twister. While it’s never a film I have a passion for like everyone else, Jan De Bont’s second-best movie behind Speed showcased a fun depiction of what mother nature has in the works, resulting in a guilty pleasure from my perspective. Twenty-eight years later, it’s shocking it took this long to get a follow-up with Twisters. But was this sequel people wanted? Even though I knew 100% this wouldn’t be one of the year’s best, all I wanted out of this was to have a good time since it feels like forever since I’ve seen a disaster movie worthy enough to be rewatched. And with Twisters, it was even better than it had any right to be doing its job to captivate audiences this summer, hopefully.
What’s the Story: Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is a meteorologist in New York City. Five years ago, she used to chase tornados in her home state of Oklahoma, where her latest experiment to send signals into tornados resulted in tragedy when she lost three of her friends during an EF5. The only other surviving member of her team, Javi (Anthony Ramos), calls her back into the field with the company he works for, Storm Par, to perfect a new scanning system to predict tornados and save lives. Reluctantly agreeing, Kate joins the crew for one week, during which she notices hot-shot “Tornado Wrangler” Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) and his motley team of storm chasers posting on social media through live streaming.
Director Lee Isaac Chung was a choice I didn’t see coming to helm this. Who could’ve predicted he would go from the meditative, Oscar-winning drama Minari to a change of pace with scary tornados? But we know by now that indie filmmakers stepping into big-budget blockbusters tend to do well based on the IP (sometimes). Twisters show that he brought the thrills that make for an excellent companion piece to the original. You get a standalone sequel that doesn’t need to make any connections to what we experienced with Helen Hunt and the late great Bill Paxton’s characters and serves as just another dangerous and scientific story. By that, I respect Chung for having this stand on its own.
There are a few references here and there, from another similar Dorothy device or Kate saying” I’m not Back” as a nod to when Bill was welcomed back in the first. But it works when it brims with that expected spectacle one gains when characters are a part of a dangerous profession, and more so, there’s more of an effort to care for them, hoping no one gets blown away. Beneath the action, Chung and The Revenant screenwriter Mark L. Smith (with a story credit by Joseph Kosinski) doesn’t forget the heart and human elements that are stronger here, allowing them to find more of an emotional attachment to those risking their lives to save others.
We’re now at a point where were allowed to say Glen Powell earns that leading man’s charisma. After Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You, and recently with Hit Man, this guy is a bona fide movie star, and while Tyler isn’t the lead, you can expect Powell to bring his character charm full center with his adventurous spirit. On the surface, he may appear as a Youtuber having a blast with a cocky attitude about him, but there’s more to him with his knowledge of storms. Daisy Edgar-Jones is another actor I love seeing in more roles, and she’s equally great here. Segmenting her as another big celebrity crush of mine. Kate’s a protagonist to lean onto where you want her to overcome her belief she’s not to blame for what happened during the opening and learn how she has this instinct to know where tornados are heading in specific directions. And it’s no surprise there’s strong chemistry between Powell and Jones that worked for what it was going for.
While the supporting cast wasn’t used as much as I thought they would be, they’re still fun when supported by its two leads. Ramos had more to do when sharing his scenes with Jones. But you also got the likes of Brandon Perea, Sasha Lane, Katy O’Brian (fellow Indianapolis native), and our next Superman, David Corensweat. Compared to the first, you can’t compare with what Hunt, Paxton, and even Phillip Seymour Hoffman provided despite this having a talented cast because of their likability.
Besides falling head over heels for Jones on-screen, I came to see the action that comes with the excitement of chasing storms. Chung well directed the use of CGI and practical effects for realism. Only some visuals looked great, but seeing these giant twisters landing and causing destruction is still impressive. They excel with Dan Mindel’s cinematography using 35mm film and a great soundtrack with Benjamin Wallfisch’s score and no shortage of pretty good country songs, even though I don’t listen to country. It is pretty terrifying to know that cities have been hit by them recently during this unpredictable time of year, and they must’ve gone through them while shooting Oklahoma. But these sequences were entertaining if tense to sit through in IMAX, and they get better by not dumbing down the science. Why should I put on my science brain when it has a twister with fire and a standout climax??
Some will think Twisters doesn’t try to be different from the first. Aside from finding it predictable by fault of its familiarity, it didn’t matter to me when it deals with the same story. It’s almost a good thing this turned out better than expected and didn’t cause disgust and anger like Independence Day: Resurgence, an awful sequel to a good 1996 film. As far as legacy sequels go (if you want to call it one), it may not be on the level of a masterpiece like Top Gun: Maverick, but it surprised me.
Twisters did the impossible by letting director Lee Isaac Chung craft together a throwback to ’90s disaster movies with a thrilling and fun sequel, which I would argue is better than the original. Even if you’re not too crazy about the first, this is the type of summer blockbuster I hope has staying power when it delivers on the stakes and charismatic leads.
DC's Take 