Twisters (2024)

​"Twisters" stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Daryl McCormack, Sasha Lane, Kiernan Shipka, Nik Dodani, and Maura Tierney.  Released on July 19, 2024, the film has a group of storm chasers encountering a series of tornados ravaging Oklahoma.

The film is directed by Lee Isaac Chung, who also directed "Munyurangabo", "Abigail Harm", and "Minari".  It is a standalone sequel to the 1996 film "Twister".  In most cases, our real enemy interfering with our lives is humanity itself.  But in some cases, nature poses our greatest threat, primarily through destructive weather.  While it's not without merits of beauty from watching the weather from a distance, it's also infamous for its natural disasters, wrecking everything in its paths depending on the type we're facing.  But nothing comes close to being as disastrous (and deadly) as a tornado, which sucks up everyone and everything that gets in its way.  The 1996 disaster classic "Twister" proved to be one of the finest examples of tornados in cinema, emphasizing the authentic tension and frights of surviving the high-speed whirlwind of death.  It did earn some award nominations for its technical aspects for a reason.  This weekend, that classic disaster blockbuster becomes the latest film to get the legacy sequel treatment to remind audiences of the dangers of nature's fatal side.  However, it appears it won't be connected to the original despite occurring in the same universe.  Besides that, is it another legacy sequel worth watching, or are we better off moving to a tornado-free state?  Let's find out.   

The story centers on Kate Cooper (Edgar-Jones), a meteorologist haunted by a traumatic encounter with a tornado, causing her to retire as a storm chaser.  Kate is then lured back to her childhood home in Oklahoma by her colleague, Javi (Ramos), to test a revolutionary storm scanning system.  Her trip down memory lane leads her to cross paths with Tyler Owens (Powell), a famous social-media storm chaser thriving to recklessly post his encounters with the storms online.  As storm season intensifies, Kate, Javi, and Tyler find themselves fighting for their lives as they encounter a series of twisters, each more dangerous than the last.

"Twister" is another 90s film I hadn't watched much of until its legacy sequel was around the corner.  The reason was that I was too young to watch it then, and unlike most people, I followed the ratings policy like it was the law.  It wasn't until recently that I found the time to watch this disaster classic all the way through in preparation for "Twisters".  It was honestly a fun ride.  It's pure 90s disaster corniness packed with a likable cast and great tension.  Plus, it had a flying cow.  How can you not say "no" to a film with flying beef?  The visuals did look dated when watching it on my MacOS computer, but back then, they were the reason the film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.  It was enough to boost my curiosity toward "Twisters", another legacy sequel whose goal is to reintroduce the concept to fans old and new while retaining the elements that made its predecessors cinematic classics.  Some have worked like "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Creed", while others made us think that some movies should've stayed as one-off classics.  "Twisters" is another fortunate example of a legacy sequel done right.

Like its predecessor, "Twisters" is summer blockbuster entertainment that relies on its charisma and tension to generate high winds of fun and disaster-related frights.  Both movies showcase the fundamentals and thrills of storm chasing but don't leave out the dangers and everlasting impact of this life-threatening hobby.  However, "Twisters" outdid its predecessor for several reasons, including the story.  "Twister" was a fun yet self-contained blockbuster emphasizing visual spectacle amid its run-of-the-mill plot involving characters deploying a research device inside a tornado.  In comparison, "Twisters" attempted to do both while maintaining its goal of delivering popcorn entertainment with surprisingly impressive results.  "Twisters" is a disaster movie, but at its core, it's also a character drama that explores themes of grief and the importance of helping others.  One aspect of these themes is represented by the character Kate, who is haunted by her past actions and has retired as a storm chaser.  The film also delves into the difference between helping victims for profit versus assisting them out of genuine concern and with the assistance of scientific weather knowledge.  While it followed some similar elements we've seen in other films before, including "Twister", the story was sincerely engaging enough to ride alongside the winds of spectacle, thanks to Mark L. Smith's suitably written screenplay.

Coming off the heels of the critically acclaimed drama, "Minari", Lee Isaac Chung faced the daunting task of delivering a worthy summer blockbuster.  His work on "Minari" was one of the reasons for my anticipation of "Twisters", notably for his direction of the story, presentation, and characters.  However, I was also concerned about him being another promising director who would fall victim to Hollywood's limitations of an audience-driven summer blockbuster.  Fortunately, that wasn't the case.  In addition to his execution of its themes, Chung also effectively delivered immersive tension in its authentic weather-related incidents without resorting to over-the-top scenarios.  It captured that classic summer blockbuster feel we'd got back in the day mixed with some modern elements to warrant its refreshing take, especially the young characters and viral videos.  Of course, the film isn't without its character moments in between the tornado sequences that maintain its predecessor's likability and charisma.  

Aside from its familiarity, the only other flaw I had was its runtime, which ran a bit longer than it should have.  "Twisters" was a bit over two hours long, which is ten minutes longer than "Twister".  While it may have overstayed its welcome, it was quickly compensated by its pacing and diverting cast.  "Twisters" sees Daisy Edgar-Jones stepping into big-budget territory for the first time following her work in smaller films and television shows, like "Where the Crawdads Sing" and "Normal People".  I first saw the young actress in the Hulu film "Fresh" in 2022, which I enjoyed.  I didn't even bother with "Where the Crawdads Sing", making "Twisters" my second exposure to Edgar-Jones.  All I can say is that I wouldn't mind seeing more of her sooner or later.  Daisy Edgar-Jones delivered a performance worthy of capturing Kate's trauma and strong-willed persona, making Kate a likable protagonist amid its disaster thriller formula.  Glen Powell has recently provided some surprisingly solid works, mainly due to his charming appeal.  Unsurprisingly, his entertaining performance as the reckless yet good-hearted Tyler is no exception.  Anthony Ramos also did pretty well regarding his performance as Javi, and Brandon Perea, fresh off the heels of his breakthrough role in "Nope", provided some solid moments as Boone, a videographer from Tyler's crew.

As for the technical aspects, it's easy to admit that "Twisters" retains the immersive visual spectacle that popularized the 1996 disaster thriller.  The visual effects effectively highlighted the constant dangers and intensity of its tornados, mainly when they're destroying everything in their path, without sacrificing the horrific appeal for just the spectacle.  Its focus on the destruction adds to the horror of these high-wind funnels of doom due to the people being in actual peril, adding to the thrilling stakes of encountering dangerous weather up close.  The cinematography also looked terrific for some of its wide-angle and anamorphic format shots, especially for the sceneries in Oklahoma and tornado sequences.  Dan Mindel, its cinematographer, is no stranger to filming blockbuster action films, and based on my experience with this film and his other works, it makes sense why he was chosen.

Overall, "Twisters" is an exhilarating storm of blockbuster spectacle with a 100% chance of traditional disaster thrills and compelling characters.  Some of its familiar elements are hit-and-miss, and the runtime lasts longer than the usual duration of a tornado.  Nonetheless, the film is another superb example of a modern summer blockbuster done right, with enough effort in its straightforward story and character depth to match its visuals and horrific destructions.  It is also another case of a legacy sequel improving over its predecessor regarding its approach to mixing nostalgia with substance.  With its charismatic cast, Chung's direction, solid screenplay, technical aspects, and a mixture of tension and humor, the film blew away almost all of my expectations of a cinematic blockbuster experience.  If you liked the 1996 film, you'll definitely enjoy this latest addition to the legacy sequel lineup.

B+