Twisters (2024)
4 min read
Well its been three decades since we watched the Flying cow and a storm chaser in the “Twister” from 1996, that one had a seat of the pants, will they wont they live to it, and it was good, that being shown in its not too shabby $242m takings. This time around they added an “s” to the end of the name and do what is sort of a remake but with (pardon the pun) a twist. That bein this time around the storm chasers are trying to tame the beast and save the world.
Daisy Edgar-Jones plays Kate Cooper a budding storm chaser metearologist, who has what she thinks is a surefire way to tame a tornado. She travels with fellow storm chasers, Javi (Anthony Ramos), her boyfriend Jeb (Daryl McCormack), Addy (Kiernan Shipka) and Praveen (Nik Dodani) into the eye of a storm to test her theory for a high school project no less. Things dont turn out too well though for the group, and five years later, Kate is in New York behind a desk following the weather at a safe distance on a computer, much to the dismay of her mum, Cathy (Maura Tierney). Though we are led in the limited clips of her at her role to believe she relies on her intuition rather than the data to tell her what is happening, something you have to remember when you get further into this.
When Javi, a fellow storm survior, who joined the military, asks her to help him test a prototype — a more sophisticated version of his earlier weather sensor, Dorothy — she reluctantly agrees. Once they reach Oklahoma, they realise that they are not alone in their chasing, surprise, its more of a wild west for storm tourists and thrill seekers alike, and social media stars swarming the area. From this mob of tourists, the action targets a group a self proclaimed tornado wrangler Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) and his crew, which includes videographer Boone (Brandon Perea), drone operator Lilly (Sasha Lane), scientist Dexter (Tunde Adebimpe) and mechanic Dani (Katy O’Brian). Ben (Harry Hadden-Paton), a journalist from London, is also travelling with Tyler to write a profile on the storm chasers.
The two groups vi for possition chasing the perfect tornados for their own ends, one apparently for the thrills and the attention and Kate to gather data to find a way to tame the beasts. As we follow them both through various attempts to get to the eye of a tornado, the alliance Kate has with her friend Javi strains as she grows to realise he isnt there just to gather data but to work with some rather questionable backers…Kate comes to the realisations through some disasters that Tyler is not all as bad and shallow as she first thought, and just in it for the likes, he has a deeper reason to be out here. The storms, having grown in ferocity and breadth thanks to, well, climate change ofcourse , upend lives and economies. Tyler proves his heart is in the right place as he stops by to rescue a dog — remember Jo’s dog also made it into the cellar in the nick of time in Twister?
Twisters sweep the towns and cities, causing the expected devestation, the sound alone is enough to rattle your fillings, follow seeral throughout the film showing off the special effects have moved on in the 3 decades since the original, but still leave a little bit to your imagination. Who would have thought a swimming pool was a good idea.. you will see. Overall the effects are indeed impressive, scary and destructive.
The romantic subplot is a delightful addition while Jones, Powell and Ramos have the heft, conviction and charisma to power through the science stuff. Though none of the characters from Twister return in this sequel, if we can loosely call it that, there are referenes to The Wizard of Oz ,— with Dorothy, scarecrow, tinman and lion — and Bill Paxton’s son, James Paxton, as a complaining motel guest as nods to the original film.
Overall this is a good movie, with nice levels of acting, a plot you want to get invested in for the duration and more than not good acting, though you have to think in places they are hamming it up..
As a sequel it is a fair one, and its not too violent you cant show the younger kids though your todlers might get the odd nightmare.
All in all lets say give it a go
4/5
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