Twisters blew the roofs off IMAX theaters on its opening weekend, raking in an astonishing $81.3 million. It earned a not-too-shabby A- Cinemascore to accompany that hefty debut. Shot on 35 mm, there’s a grounded feel every time a ginormous tornado touches down in Oklahoma, where the production actually took place. Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones (Where The Crawdads Sings) and Glen Powell (Anyone But You), this is barely a legacy sequel with zero cast members returning from the 1996 Jan de Bont-directed blockbuster. Does that matter? Are the visual effects next-level great? Will cows still be endlessly twisting in the wind? Nah, yes, and sadly, no.
After a tragedy five years prior, Kate Cooper (Edgar-Jones), a retired tornado-chaser-turned New York meteorologist, is persuaded by former colleague Javi (Anthony Ramos) to return to Oklahoma to work with a new team aided by state-of-the-art technologies in the hopes of 3D mapping a tornado. The tech and Kate’s instincts could save countless towns in harm’s way if it works. Meanwhile, a less scientific but more popular crew led by Tyler Owens (Powell), a “Tornado Wrangler” with millions of followers, is in search of glory by crafting spectacle from Mother Nature’s most powerful wind storms. And fireworks.
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The script by Mark L. Smith (story credit by Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski) relies on the aforementioned tornadoes and thinly sketched opposing character motivations between Kate, Tyler, and Javi. Essentially, it’s just enough to keep the pick-up trucks rolling until the next digitally-rendered twisters touch down. As far as summer blockbusters go, this is par for the course. The key to successful tentpole disaster pics like Independence Day (and, to a lesser degree, the original Twister) is the balance between charming characters, explosions, and dollops of science know-how to keep audiences invested.
Frustratingly, Smith’s script spends way too much time having characters bicker about precipitation and other factors in the least effective way possible. As the original film laid out a race of sorts between corporate weather jerks and down-home storm chasers, this largely standalone sequel is less a race and more a state-wide sandbox with competing children’s pails and sand castle makers. And because it’s 2024, the snobs versus slobs conceit is flipped. Now, the good guys are backed by a corporation, while the jerks are seen as shameless YouTubers more interested in selling T-shirts adorning Tyler’s face. Or at least, that’s how things seem at the onset. I’m sure it’s not spoiling to say that Kate and Tyler end up on the right side of disaster heroics.
Sure, Javi might have machines that borrow names from MGM’s technicolor twister classic The Wizard of Oz: Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, and, of course, The Wizard, but beyond Dorothy, the scientific tornado instrument, making an appearance as a shoutout to the original film, there really is no connection beyond well, the font used on the title card. Judy Garland’s iconic twister that led her out of Kansas could be seen as ground zero for all things tornadoey, but one would hope for more plot-wise as a 21st-century entry to a cinematic excursion. It is also baffling how, in 2024, a film about, um, the climate dare not utter more updated phrasing. No doubt this was a concession not to piss off a specific demographic.
More frustrating is that while the production team has done an excellent job displaying the destructive path and aftermath of tornadoes, too many of the set pieces feel repetitive. Lone road, storm chasers, hi-tech babble, and near misses. Rinse repeat. Only a moment about halfway through the two-hour run time set at night at a lone motel raises the stakes. With no special equipment or automobiles, Kate and Tyler must do their best to help the motel owner and a few grumpy guests. It’s a tense scene where I had no clue how the characters would survive.
On the plus side, some of the film’s better scenes are when Kate reacquaints herself with her hometown. A visit with her mom (the always reliable Maura Tierney) makes good use of a barn where a young Kate had plenty of scientific projects concerned with controlling the weather. There’s a nice relaxed pace to the scene that I wished for more of, considering the strong supporting cast.
When indy talent like Katy O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding) and Saha Lane (American Honey) show up for your movie. let them have fun roles (because I know an actual relationship is already out of the question) if only for a few minutes. Even future Man of Steel David Corenswet (The Greatest Hits) is basically, a two-dimensional jerk who seems to be channeling Henry Cavill’s villainous turn in Mission Impossible: Fallout minus the cool bicep reloads and charisma. At one point, when one character begs him to do the right thing and save people instead of focusing only on the bottom line, I almost thought he would reply: “That’s the job.” Come on, Twisters, you’re better than that.
The film is directed by Lee Issac Chung, whose 2020 breakout, Minari, was an Oscar-winning family portrait set in the Ozarks. How he and DP Dan Mindel (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) utilize the open landscape to emphasize the psyche of its characters is effective. In particular, Kate’s PTSD from a tragic tornado opener plays well, thanks to these visual choices. Sure, the tornadoes look great, but these are the areas where Chung’s efforts shine brightest.
As a singularity that does work, it’s Kate’s nearly existential crisis with the elements. I might have issues with silly things like the plot, the supporting cast, and the, frankly, generic action scenes, but Edgar-Jones brings it. Her chemistry with Powell also works. Still, for a feature made for IMAX spectacle, Twisters’ shortcomings of such an endeavor are hard to ignore on an enormous screen,
Twisters opens in theaters July 19, 2024.
