Twisters

SPOILER ALERT

Sheesh, how many tornadoes have we dealt with lately?

Over the past three or four months, the midwestern United States, throughout Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and bits of northern Texas, have all been slammed by tornadoes that left many houses and neighborhoods destroyed and many victims either dead or homeless. Let’s pray for the victims and wish them a speedy recovery.

So, when that conflicted with the anticipation many felt about the then-forthcoming film Twisters, I became more curious. How would people have reacted to this movie since it’s coming around the same time as all the tornadoes that ravaged a good chunk of the midwestern United States? What would the movie have done outside of making for a decent summer film to watch in theaters?

Well, I don’t know how Twisters would help those stuck in such crises, but it does provide good popcorn entertainment. And the effects were such that you’d have to see it on the big screen to get the full effect. Above all, it even had some elements that felt creative and helped it instantly stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the original Twister.

What's the story like?

The focus is on a young ex-storm-chaser named Kate Carter, who worked in New York City as a meteorologist after her last attempt at storm chasing five years ago got many of her friends killed. Then, she was given a surprise visit by her old colleague, Javi, who proposed to Kate that she join him and a band of expert storm-chasers to help them on their next mission. Reluctantly, Kate agreed to tag along with him as she reacquainted herself with her old hometown in Oklahoma and met the group Javi partook in, an organization called Storm Par. Among the other acquaintances Kate made in town was another group of amateur storm-chasers. This band, led by social media superstar Tyler Owens, recorded expeditions of their own making into the storms and displayed their tendencies to hunt down the tornadoes for everyone to see in real life or online.

At first, Kate scoffed at this, thinking little of Tyler and his fellow storm-chasers’ habits and finding them off-kilter. But as they met up more, they hit off each other more than they expected to.

But it turns out that Javi roped Kate into Oklahoma in the nick of time. While it began as a recruit for Kate to study Javi’s collected data on the forthcoming tornadoes with him for Stormy Par, the tornadoes soon expanded into EF5 tornadoes, which Kate had never dealt with since her last storm-chasing venture.

What were Kate and Javi to do about the tornadoes once they caught on to their progressing severity? What tricks did Kate have up her sleeve that might help her, Javi, perhaps Tyler, and their fellow storm-chasers with the tornadoes? What dark secrets lie beneath the surface of Kate’s old hometown? Might the bantering in which Kate and Tyler partook blossom into something more promising?

Even before the surprise tornadoes hit the midwestern United States, I wasn’t sure what to make of this movie for another reason. It did look interesting, but over the past several years, we’ve had a boatload of sequels whose replications of the qualities of the original classic were all over the map. I could have barely told whether Twisters was going to be another Top Gun: Maverick, where it continued the themes and ideas of the first film and ends up blowing it out of the water, or another Space Jam: A New Legacy, where it revisited a classic and tried out new ideas only for them to blow up in its face. In fact, Independence Day: Resurgence would be a more appropriate comparison since that film also tried to continue the story of a disaster classic, but it ended up backfiring instead.

Twisters is neither.

I’m happy to report that this might be another Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. It provides a more reinvigorating take on a classic story with new ideas, a more modern approach, and new characters to exercise them with, and it might establish its own legacy while complementing that of the original.

Because 28 years have passed since the first Twister came out, countless new technological advancements have come along when using them to study storm formations and what that would do for those affected by such incoming storms. Thankfully, writer Joseph Kosinski and director Lee Isaac Chung gathered what felt most appropriate for something like Twisters and implemented them into the story’s narrative and the characters’ arsenal of tools while never letting them or the storms themselves distract from what’s essential in the movie.

Among other things, let’s start with the characters.

At first, the main lead, Kate Carter, seemed standard but had a general sense of spunk when obsessed with her high knowledge of storm formations. She was also hesitant to renegotiate her dreams with her friends, especially Javi, because of a horrific incident the last time she attempted to pull off a successful storm-chasing mission.

She would’ve been this standard with nothing to write home about… if it wasn’t for the prologue.

Here’s how it detailed what Kate went through. The last time Kate tried storm chasing, she and her friends performed their duties, confident to pull it off. Despite releasing her compound mixtures into the tornado that they hunted down, not to mention the sensors from Dorothy V, Kate turned out to have misread the tornado patterns without anticipating the tornado to expand into EF5. Because of this, Kate unknowingly and unintentionally drove herself and her friends into a death trap. Of the original five, only Kate and Javi made it out alive, but the results that led to the deaths of three of their buddies left Kate with survivor’s guilt. Thinking that she bit off more than she could chew, this outcome cemented Kate’s need to disengage herself from storm chasing.

Compared to Jo in the first movie, whose affinity for storm chasing came about after watching her father get sucked up into a tornado, Kate’s affinity for it, and her conflicts with it, feel more understandable. Frankly, it makes Jo’s affinity for it look a tad morbid.

As for her friend, Javi, he seemed like a down-to-earth, knowledgeable fellow with an astute handle on whatever data he gathered on the forthcoming tornado formations. However, while he expressed more commitment to his cause than Kate did when she returned with him to Oklahoma, he displayed a touch more self-conceitedness in his motivations because of his partnership with Storm Par, which roped in scientists from places like NASA and FEMA to help people in their research. That was why Javi roped Kate in the first place; he thought that with the corporate backing he needed, he would’ve used it to further his tornado research and use the money given to him from his collaborations with Storm Par to secure medical supplies and help those who’ve been made destitute by the tornadoes. However, Javi only became more interesting once a particular detail about one of Storm Par’s most prominent collaborators - complete with involvement from his nephew, Scott - tested his sense of commitment and who to gather the tornado data for.

But now, what do I make of Tyler Owens, the ‘Tornado Wrangler’?

He may seem like your everyday modern-day cowboy, but some of the aspects he unleashed make him more exciting and fun to see in action. What draws me to him is his general energy and supposed professionalism as he lunged with his friends to chase down the tornadoes like they were game. What I felt out of the group of storm-chasers in the first film, I felt to the utmost degree out of Owens, if not his entire band of storm-chasers. In addition, he expressed a cockier personality than I would’ve expected, not that it’s surprising given the movie’s setting and his potential background. And yet, for all his show-offiness, he still had a big heart underneath his hardened cowboy shell and gradually expressed himself as such. So, his lightness in characterization doesn’t undermine the pure joys, thrills, and considerations I felt out of this character.

As for his band of storm-chasers, they felt like a much rowdier bunch, for they expressed the commitment to match as they readied themselves for action with their phones and social media applications on hand. And while they made online celebrities out of themselves, their storm-chasing methods seem foolhardier, for they were more determined to brave their way through the tornadoes, all while on film. Even though none stood out to me, a few characters, such as videographer Boone, technician Lily, and Dexter, all left distinct impressions because of their excitable energy or more relaxed and observant demeanors.

When I saw how they upheld their storm-chasing reputation, that was when I finally understood how daredevilish storm-chasing could be. Whenever I looked at Dusty and his fellow storm-chasers from the first film, I bought into their professionalism without a second thought. Their sense of enthusiasm felt infectious despite the likelihood that they were engaging in something dangerous. With Boone and the others, I did feel their excitement and willingness to lunge into harm’s way and chase the storms down while having fun with it, but I looked at them wondering if they knew what they were getting into. In this movie’s defense, though, it only added some realism to their habits. It highlights the riskier antics they expressed with their motivations while also reminding us of the life-threatening factors they’re in because of it. The idea that this film honed such realism with storm chasing and how it connects with the Oklahoman communities is a massive testament to how well this movie’s doing on its own or even as a sequel.

Also, a British guy named Ben was among the ragtag storm-chasers who joined Tyler Owens on his missions and their exploitive social media endeavors. He prepared to help them with their tornado research only to constantly wig out and panic every time they were even close to a tornado, not to mention settled in the middle of one. For the rest of the movie, he kept on a straight face, spoke in his usual accent, and assessed the situation whenever he wasn’t freaking out about being too close to the tornadoes. The way I saw it, I looked at him like he nearly was to this film what Melissa Reeves, Bill’s therapist flame, was in the first film.

Also, the comparisons between Jo’s vs. Jonas’ teams and Tyler Owens and his storm-chasers vs. Storm Par were interesting. For example, in the first movie, Jo and Bill collaborated with a group of storm-chasers who felt like the underdogs as they tried to prove their worth by capturing the tornado data to evacuate people to safety. But the closest thing they had to competition was with Jonas, who stole their ideas for Dorothy, had corporate backing on his side, and was mostly in it for the thrills and the attention. As for how it went in this movie, Storm Par had the corporate backing yet was more concerned about gathering the tornado data, and the underdog storm-chasers were all about the thrills and attention, as evidenced by recording themselves for social media.

The more I think about that, the more I think there are some things regarding Kate’s family that I thought were better handled than with Jo’s family. For example, in the first movie, the closest we’ve ever seen of Jo’s relatives were her father, mother, and Aunt Meg. But while I liked Aunt Meg in the first movie, especially with her culinary talents with steak and eggs, I was confused over what happened to Jo’s mother after Jo watched her father get sucked into the tornado. She was only in that one sequence and never appeared or was mentioned again. But in this movie, Kate’s primary relative is her mother, and much like Aunt Meg, she’s also good at cooking, specifically barbecue. Because she was not present in the prologue, it demonstrates how Kate’s mother was alive and well. She just happened to be a good relative who was around and willing to give the heroes a helping hand, if not out of emotional attachment. So that felt very nice to see.

As for another element the movie did creatively compared to the first film, let’s take a closer look at Tyler Owens’ Dodge Ram. Outside of serving as a flashy wink to the first film, it has many neat aspects that help it display some of its bombastic tendencies to match those of Tyler Owens and his gang. They included mini-searchlights and, of all things, fireworks that they shoot up into the tornado. However, it also comes with one other tool that seemed very effective. But first, I recall one scene that, I’ll admit, I found silly even before I saw Twisters, where Jo, Bill, and Melissa drove right beside a few waterspouts. Just as the waterspouts approached them, the truck was caught in the middle of two of them, and despite that, it only spun around on the ground without ever being lifted. How’s that possible? And wouldn’t the waterspouts have blended into one by then?

Let’s talk about how Twisters works its way around that. Tyler Owens and his fellow storm-chasers performed a series of tasks as they prepared for the tornado’s arrival, and the last step they achieved before the tornado approached them was to secure their position with auger drills installed underneath the truck to hold it in place and prevent it from being sucked into the funnel. That felt a lot more inventive and made more logical sense.

However, as for what occurred in this movie that recaptured what Jonas and his team posed, this is where I honestly felt thrown for a loop.

One of Storm Par’s biggest collaborators on the storm-chasing project was Scott’s uncle, local Oklahoman real estate owner Marshall Riggs. But while Javi gathered his research on the tornadoes to go out and help other people, what did Riggs do? He had the gall to lay his hands over the homes and lands that were ravaged by the tornadoes and buy them from the victims at a cheaper price.

Wow. That is downright despicable.

As I wrapped my head around it and watched the movie, I looked at it like it was way too big a deal for the film to just set aside. What ruffles my feathers further is that his underhanded methods of swiping the ravaged homes and lands from under the poor people’s noses have been public knowledge for a while. In this case, I found that detail to be just baffling. If he is this widespread as a public figure, it makes no sense for people to notice this and not act against it. Come to think of it, is this common knowledge on social media, too, and not just Tyler Owens’ storm-chasing expeditions? After all, how else did Kate catch on to this and confront Javi about it, given his connections?

Some people say that’s life. I say that’s ridiculous. Why else did I complain about Bedford Falls’ tolerance against Mr. Potter earlier?

And yes, there have been times when I felt genuinely pissed off at the movie, but for which reason? Is it for not letting the main characters or even the tornadoes dish out their direct comeuppance against Riggs, Scott, and Storm Par for their treachery? If something like this happened in real life, who wouldn’t dish it out? Or is it for throwing something like this in where it’s the tornadoes that should serve as the primary opponent?

At the same time, though, this leads to what I admire the most about it.

Do you remember what I said about the first Twister and how I thought it did a great job of taking the all-too-common disaster cliché of underwritten characters surrounded by spectacle and flipping it on its head so that characters like Bill, Jo, Dusty, and the others would have been made more interesting, warts and all? While the movie already did a great job with the characterizations and performances, I think it might have flipped another disaster cliché on its head: the necessities of a villain in a disaster flick.

Believe me when I say that every time I see villains at their nastiest in a disaster movie, I always scoff at it because I find it emotionally manipulative and look at the villains like they generally distract from the film’s primary focus. Think about it: you have characters like Secretary of Defense Albert Nimzicki in Independence Day, Russian businessman Yuri Karpov in 2012, and even Oscar Galvin in Unstoppable. They all seemed to be there to stir up some extra emotional turmoil for our main characters, even though, at the end of the day, they’re superfluous compared to the actual disaster at hand. They left us feeling like if any of these characters were to meet their unanticipated demise or deathly encounters because of those disasters, we would have been expected to embrace that with open arms like they had it coming. This, of course, tends to clash with the tendency to understand that of all the people victimized by the disasters, how is rooting for the victimization of bad guys by the disasters a valuable take-home message from these films?

With Twisters, even though the threat factor with Riggs felt very real, and as much as I found its hesitation to focus on it a bit nonsensical, deep down, I felt astonished by how the movie was supposedly too smart to waste its valuable time over that. The general feeling I got out of this movie was, between the two threats, which one is deadlier? A corrupt, high-ranking figure who swindles the poor people in the local communities of their homes and lands to expand his land ownership? Or the tornadoes that are not only responsible for such destruction in the first place but could also suck you up and leave you dead in the blink of an eye? It’s like the movie is telling us that, yes, there are people like Riggs out there who would do that to the poor people affected by the disasters. But remember, that’s not the real danger here in the movie. The real threat is what you came in for, and that’s the natural forces laying waste to the Oklahoman communities, which, of course, Kate, Tyler, and the others know how to disrupt and prevent from causing any further destruction.

Even with that in mind, the fate of Riggs, Scott, and Storm Par is surprisingly – forgive me for saying this – up in the air. Outside of Javi having had it with Scott and driving off without him and Storm Par to meet up with Tyler and Kate and help them, the movie never specified what became of them during the climax. They never said whether Riggs was among the victims in the tornado attacks, whether they all survived and continued doing their thing, or if they were among the casualties in the tornado attacks before Kate, Tyler, Javi, and the others successfully disrupted the tornadoes. Of course, because Javi contributed his research to Riggs and voluntarily quit his job with Storm Par, it still left me with the possibility that, no matter how it would have gone down, Riggs’s influence might have been weakened because of this.

Regardless, I cannot help but tip my hat to this movie for keeping its focus where it should be. Everything surrounding Riggs, Scott, and Storm Par felt real, yet subdued, and somehow, it did wonders for the film.

However, as conflicted as I generally feel about this aspect of Twisters, there are ultimately three things that propel it into being a truly great sequel.

The first aspect of Twisters that allured me was the directing by Lee Isaac Chung. He excelled in making the film feel more streamlined and paying more attention to its rural and local elements, especially when the tornados were about to strike. It emphasized the fear factor generally felt when lives would’ve been on the line on account of what and who people have that they hold so dear to them.

You know, for better or worse, this may also explain why I felt so strongly about Riggs and his dastardly methods throughout the movie, even if it wasn’t one of the main focuses. That tells me right away how talented Chung is as a director, especially after hitting it out of the park with Minari.

But the directing also impressed me for another reason.

Considering this is a standalone sequel to Twister, I expected it to express more prominent connections to the first film. One of the movie’s most notable connections to the first film was the Dorothy V that Kate, Javi, and their buddies had with them when attempting to deploy its sensors into the tornado. From the looks of the micro-orbs, they were modeled precisely as they were in Dorothy’s last model: with aluminum fan blades attached to them. Yet, how Kate and her friends got their hands on this model is also a mystery, unless they met up with Bill and Jo Harding at some point.

And who can forget the rodeo scene? With the general contentedness of the situation only to turn ugly once the tornadoes came forth and caught everyone by surprise, it became to this film what the drive-in scenes were from the first film. Granted, the climax also occurred in a movie theater as a tornado raged about, but the rodeo scene fits the bill more.

But what does this have to do with the directing? What I appreciate about Chung’s directing in this film, outside of emphasizing the film’s local elements, is how it replicated some of the same beats from the first film, only this time they felt more smoothed out by comparison. A certain transcendence in the visual rhythms clued me into this artistic aspect. Whereas the first Twister was clunky with its visual storytelling and its emphasis on the banter and action, here, I felt like I got into the rhythms of the story and characters’ dilemmas with more ease under Lee Isaac Chung’s direction than I did under Jan de Bont’s direction in the first film. Bont’s ideas of banter and action sometimes worked, like in Twister and Speed, but other times, they’ve been said to throw the focus out of whack in some of his other films. So, to witness such commitment from Chung to pay attention to the scenery and characters and have them gel so nicely with the action and… the next aspect I’ll talk about has got to amount to something.

The next aspect of this film that gives it its momentum—and yes, we’ve all seen this coming from miles away—is the visual effects. What can I say about those?

I’ve talked about how modern technology evolved to a point where we have more advanced methods to study storm formations, especially as the characters did. But I’m telling you, outside of the modern advancements and technological evolutions utilized within the movie’s narrative, they’ve been nothing but kind to its technical aspects. The visual effects applied to the tornadoes and the general effects displayed throughout the film make moviegoers like me feel like we’re either confronting a tornado live or feel like we’re stuck in the middle of one as we’re witnessing the beauty and danger of such an oppressive force of nature. I even remember reading that the filmmakers relied on video footage filmed by real-life storm-chasers to use as a reference to recreate the tornadoes, their formations, and what kind of wreckage they would’ve left behind as they passed through the towns and lands. I don’t know if they ever had videos of tornadoes shot from within the funnel, but it doesn’t matter because the visuals are that stunning. And with all the realism applied to Twisters, I find it most commendable.

Truth be told, I’m a tad worried about this movie coming out in the same year as Dune: Part Two, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and – God help us – Mufasa: The Lion King. Once the next Oscars come up, I’ll bet the Visual Effects Award will be on fire this year with films like these four vying for such recognition. Because I was amazed by the film’s visuals, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for Twisters to be recognized for its achievements.

The third aspect that gives this movie some weight, and which, in my opinion, feels as strong as the visuals, is the collective performances by Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, and Anthony Ramos.

I like how knowledgeable yet sensible Javi is, how much of a likable egotist Tyler Owens is, and how empathetic Kate felt due to the emotional baggage she carried with her as she re-entered Oklahoma. However, despite their simplicity as characters, the three actors who played these roles did so with such fresh perspectives and subtle complexities that they helped boost my interest in them more.

Let’s start with Daisy Edgar-Jones. Whenever she expressed her professionalism, no matter where or over what position she did so, I was convinced that she was proud deep down of what she did and wanted to stick with it no matter what may have come to throw her off-balance. While her emotional moments seemed AWOL sometimes, Edgar-Jones still expressed a slight pensiveness to clue me into how Kate felt about returning to Oklahoma and storm chasing, especially in the presence of the tornadoes she confronted. It was not because of Kate hopping back into her old pastime but because of her innermost fears of either becoming another tornado victim or making the same mistakes all over again and leaving people dead because of them, just like she did with her three buddies in the prologue. I truly felt Jones’ commitment and even vulnerability throughout Kate’s scenes in the movie, and that’s one of the elements concerning Kate Carter, outside of her surprisingly rounded characterizations throughout the film, that drew me to her and her struggles.

Glen Powell seemingly rode his role of Tyler Owens like a true cowboy. Powell felt like he knew what he was going in for and had fun with it while also never letting Owens’ more fame-hungry aspects hide his sense of fun, thrills, and heart that motivated him into doing what he loved doing the most. Whenever Owens strove forth in his ‘Tornado Wrangler’ persona, he expressed noticeable pride in his showy social media persona, especially as he and his buddies tracked down the tornadoes. But whenever he wasn’t busy with anything involving social media or storm chasing, Powell allowed Owens to mellow down more and express who he truly is, especially to Kate after their banters and chitchat allowed them to open up as they ran into each other more and more.

At first, I wasn’t sure what Anthony Ramos would do in this movie. Having seen him in In the Heights, I couldn’t tell what kind of role he would’ve unleashed since the film was set in rural Oklahoma. Well, here, whereas Daisy Edgar-Jones nailed Kate’s haunted side and Glen Powell nailed Tyler Owen’s prideful side, Anthony Ramos nailed down Javi’s more grounded and knowledgeable side of the movie. In addition to expressing his tenderness as Kate’s close friend from way back when, he expressed enough know-how and observation to catch on to not only what kind of tornadoes and threats were on the horizon but, just as importantly, who such research as what he compiled should best be shared with. It added some conflict in his mannerisms and voice as he tried to flow right alongside Kate and the others with ease until drastic natures left him to opt for more viable and feasible options worth taking.

Whereas I’m hoping for the visuals in Twisters to be given the recognition they deserve because of their sheer prowess, starting at the Oscars, I would frankly not be surprised to see this trio of actors recognized in the same vein as Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, and Philip Seymour Hoffman in terms of playing into the admirable art of storm chasing on film.

The rest of the actors did a decent job with what they were given. Brandon Pearl expressed some utmost enthusiasm in his voice and mannerisms as Boone, even if he’s a different beast from Philip Seymour Hoffman. Sasha Lane expressed some savviness and peculiar know-how in her role as Lily, David Corenswet expressed some professionalism but also some simultaneous egocentric tendencies as Scott, and it was frankly fun to watch Harry Hadden-Paton’s expressions as Ben reacted to the chaos of storm chasing with his ideas of common sense only for the conditions in which he was roped in to leave him a petrified wreck. Even the actors who all played Kate and Javi’s old buddies before they were swept away, literally, by the EF5 tornado in the prologue expressed some genuine camaraderie in the little time they had together, which only added to the tragedy of their deaths as Kate witnessed it.

Another part of this film that was surprisingly well done was the soundtrack. The last film’s soundtrack leaned more toward hard rock, as evident, for example, with Van Halen’s songs, ‘Humans Being’ and ‘Respect the Wind.’ Don’t get me wrong, the songs from the last film’s soundtrack weren’t bad, but this film’s soundtrack takes on a more natural and grounded approach. The songs – a whopping 29 in total – convey a more country-style theme, becoming consistent and surprisingly fitting within the movie’s context. It comes complete with hits like ‘Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma’ by Luke Combs, ‘Never Left Me’ by Megan Moroney, ‘Death Wish Love’ by Benson Boone, and even classic favorites like ‘Ghost Riders in the Sky’ by Johnny Cash. And that was a nice touch to apply to the songs when both Twister films are set in Oklahoma. While I can’t say there was one song that stood out to me besides those four, I felt more appreciative of the style the soundtrack aimed for this time.

Of course, a few other things about this movie are worth mentioning. One is, for all the connections that this movie had to the first movie, one of the most intriguing examples of the film calling back to the first movie was who they got to play one of the guest characters in this movie. The character was a complaining customer who argued with a hotel manager just as the tornado from the rodeo raged outside. And who was the actor playing this character? None other than James Paxton, the son of Bill Paxton. As unpleasant as his role was in the movie, it seemed very touching to see Bill Paxton’s real-life relative playing a character in this movie as a tribute to him. It reminded me of the ‘Alan was here’ message from Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. So, I like how it brought back that slight connection to the first movie while keeping it relatively minuscule enough to make it fit within the canvas of the movie.

The word has been going around among the film’s cast and crew that they hoped to do a potential sequel to Twisters, which I found surprising. At one point, Anthony Ramos even admitted that they deliberately gave Twisters a little open-endedness in case they should continue those plot threads in the next film. That was an exciting idea, especially since this is a standalone sequel of a classic like Twister. Personally, I could see this idea working very well if it utilized what, ironically enough, felt out of place in movies like Jumanji: The Next Level. And I’m talking about extending its focus beyond the boundaries of its originating location, which, in both Twister films’ cases, is Oklahoma. Think about it. Since Kate was working in New York City as a meteorologist, she would likely have known by that point about what other tornadoes could hit different parts of the United States, not just in Oklahoma. For instance, what she was able to successfully deploy against the EF5 tornado back home in Oklahoma, is it possible she might have it in her to practice that same kind of response against other EF5 tornadoes across the country, such as, say, Kansas, Nebraska, Eastern Colorado, Texas, Iowa? Imagine the possibilities that can be achieved with this kind of outreach. I can see the type of storyline working well for a possible ‘Twister 3’, but we’ll have to see how successfully Twisters does and hope for the best.

While the general subplot with Marshall Riggs drives me nuts, everything else about this movie barely sucks. In fact, the film did more than suck me right in. I’m tempted to say this: Twisters might have done Twister fans like me proud. Twisters is not perfect, but it is skillful as a sequel and shrewd as a disaster film.

Its ties to the first film are surprisingly implicit. The visual effects raged forth in all their glory all over again. The characters are adequate. The performances help get their juices flowing. And there’s even something about the collective aesthetic that felt deft. It provides a fresh new spin on the disaster genre and goes all out with it while, in turn, adding something new to an already established disaster classic.

This is nobody’s first ‘tornadeo’, but damn it if it isn’t a glorious one!

My Rating

B+

Additional Thoughts

• To demonstrate what Kate had in mind that she believed would’ve helped disrupt the tornadoes, she devised compound mixtures of silver iodide and sodium polyacrylate to fuse with the tornado particles and cause chemical reactions that, in turn, would’ve combated against the flow of the tornadoes. I don’t know whether this is scientifically applicable in real life, but it makes for exciting storm chasing in film, nonetheless.

• Besides James Paxton, there’s another significant cameo I ought to highlight, not by somebody, but rather by something. And what would that be? Of all things, they happen to be theater seats in the El Reno movie theater in the climax. Why is that such a big deal to me? Because these theater seats used to belong in the Fox Cinema Theater in Montrose, Colorado, 20 miles north of where I live in Ridgway. The Fox Theater sold away the old seats and replaced them with new, better-functioning seats. Little did I know that of all the places for the old seats to end up, they were used as props for Twisters as the seats were ripped apart from the theater and sucked into the tornado. I never expected anything remotely familiar from where I live to suddenly appear in one of the most anticipated sequels in modern years, but the idea that this happened makes me feel a bit honored.

Works Cited

Gomez, P. (2024, July 19). ‘Twisters’ ending explained: The alternate shot you didn’t see - and why (exclusive). EW.com. https://ew.com/twisters-ending-explained-no-kiss-airport-alternate-scene-sequel-chances-8680493

Sherlock, B. (2024, April 12). Twisters Just Proved 1 Exciting Way It Will Outshine the 1996 Original. ScreenRant. https://screenrant.com/twister-2-real-tornado-footage/