Twisters
When I saw the original trailer for Twisters I immediately thought “Oh no, another remake”. I remember watching the original Twister film back in the early 2000’s and though it scared the ever-living shit out of me and made me fear tornadoes for the next 5-10 years of my life, I did like the film. As I revisited it as an adult (I didn’t dare watch it again in my younger years/teens), it was an entertaining film and in all honesty, that is what it was supposed to be. Not to mention Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton were great in the film.
Twisters is a sort-of spiritual successor (It’s not a sequel and it’s not quite a reboot?) to the 1996 original, and it follows Kate Hudson and her group of friends who attempt to prove that her science project has the power to stop a tornado to minimize destruction to surrounding towns. After the failed attempt, Kate shuts down her study and settles for a measly weather job in New York City. That is until her old friend Javi re-appears and tells her that he has the technology that could save lives by reading storms and predicting their path. Kate then gives him one week of storm chasing to put these theories into practice and heads down to Tornado Alley, where she meets Tyler Owens, the semi-famous “Tornado Wrangler” and the two begin competing over the coming storms.
First off, let me be clear in that yes, this is a very predictable story from the beginning. The minute that Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Tyler (Glen Powell) meet, it’s almost inevitable that there will be a love connection. Shallow? Maybe. But it truly wasn’t as cheesy as I thought it would be. I was more worried that with the casting of Powell, they would use him as eye candy than a true actor, mostly like they had in previous roles (Anyone but You, Top Gun: Maverick), but this was not the case. The movie is very entertaining to say the least, and though the storyline may lack in some areas, the action is good enough to make up for it.
There were plenty of things to like about this film, so we will start with that before I dig deeper and give it some criticism. Again, going into this, I had little to no expectations, so that may be why I liked it more than I thought it would. I did also enjoy disaster movies like The Day After Tomorrow, so this technically was in that same category. The action scenes, special effects, and CGI were very, very well done. I was definitely at the edge of my seat for more than a few scenes, and in all honesty, that is what you go for in these types of films. If you were looking for a “deeper than deep” storyline, then that was your first mistake. The storms scenes were intense enough to make you watch, the finale wasn’t overshadowed in any way, and for the most part, the acting was decent. So, the film scored some points for that. I came to be entertained, and entertained I was.
On the flipside, there were some qualms. Edgar-Jones’ character does go through some life-altering trauma as the movie begins, but at the same time, her character is just way too flat. I understand what they were going for and I get her “why” and all, but I was hoping for a little more energy. Especially in the finale. I knew before going in that her and Powell were going to have a romantic relationship, and although it was much, MUCH better than his chemistry with Sydney Sweeny (She is just…..awful), even he seemed to have some trouble keeping the energy up in some of their scenes. It’s hard to do all the lifting yourself, even when you are Glen Powell.
Another issue that I had with the film is the fact that there truly is no distinct villain. The film’s obvious antagonist, as weird as this may sound, is the tornadoes themselves, though this idea seems to be glazed over as they try to paint an almost non-existent character as the villain. In the second act, they introduce (sort of) a corrupt businessman who is supposedly profiting off the destruction of these storms, though we never even truly get to meet him, and that makes some moments in the final act pretty insignificant. I think had we gotten some screen time, Javi betraying him later would have held more water.
My last piece is very brief in the sense that I am not sure that the storm-killing science that Kate creates isn’t very realistic. I know that people are going to say, “IT’S JUST A MOVIE!”, so that is why as I am rating it, I am not holding it against the film. I know that it is a story and that not everything has to be realistic in order for it to work. I just couldn’t help but feel that it was very unrealistic. Though, in theory, maybe it could? I’m no meteorologist, but at the same time, someone has to have tried this, right? Guess that is just the realist in me…
At the end of the day, would I recommend you go see Twisters? Yes, I would. It’s a good time, even if sometimes the plot seems a little flat or predictable, the storm scenes themselves are enough to get you on the edge of your seat, and for a movie like this, that’s really all you can ask for. Again, from a special effect and CGI aspect, the film does everything right and when you go to a disaster film, what more do you need? Now let’s just hope we don’t have any crazy-ass weather that sends EF5 tornadoes my way because once again, my fear of tornadoes has retuned!
3.7/5