Twisters

There’s a framed story in Hollywood regarding the original pitch to Aliens, the sequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien. Reportedly, James Cameron came into a room with studio execs, went up to a white board, and wrote Alien$. A simple, but effective strategy that clearly paid off.  Following in the same footsteps is the sequel, of sorts, to the 1996 smash hit Twister. A technical achievement for the time, blending classic analogue filmmaking with cutting edge digital effects, the Jan de Bont-directed blockbuster became the second highest-grossing film of 1996 and was a pop culture sensation. The film may not have had deep character development or a memorable plot, but it remains a finely structured film that delivers precisely on what it sets out to achieve. The latest rebootquel aims to up the ante and succeeds in delivering primo popcorn thrills.

Courtesy Universal Pictures

Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is a former storm chaser, once working on a device that, when launched into a tornado, could suck up all the moisture, thus eliminating its threat. When experimenting with it, things go awry, killing her boyfriend and their two close friends in the process. Five years later, Kate has relocated to New York working a desk job where she is approached by her old friend Javi (Anthony Ramos), who now runs his own group of storm chasers, to join his team as they have their hands on new scanning technology. After she reluctantly joins Javi in Oklahoma, they encounter rival storm chaser Tyler Owens (Glen Powell), a daredevil Youtuber who dubs himself “the Tornado Wrangler”. Tyler and his team of homegrown storm chasers look to nab all the pride and glory of being the ones to get closest to the storms, even going so far as to lighting fireworks inside of one, all in the means of getting clicks. However, climate change has caused a rapid uptick in dangerous tornadoes throughout Oklahoma, forcing Kate to work alongside Tyler in hopes of furthering her experiment, while hoping to make a change in the growing pattern of storms.

Lee Isaac Chung, helmer of the lovely Best Picture-nominated film Minari, puts his naturalistic sensibilities to good use. In an attempt to harken back to the golden age of disaster cinema, Chung relies on muscular filmmaking and old-fashioned effects staging. Upgrading from a small film like Minari to a summer tentpole such as this, Chung shows great strengths as a craftsman. The filmmakers shows a real knack for spacial awareness, being able to follow at least half a dozen characters throughout the same setting, never losing sight of who is where in relation to each other, and most importantly, where they are in relation to the tornadoes. The scale of the storms is effectively brought to life with seamless blending of CG and practical special effects. Chung never tops the iconic imagery that audiences still remember from the original, but he does evoke the similar escalating tension akin to Spielberg’s most influential blockbusters, namely Jaws and Jurassic Park. The intensity that stems from collapsing architecture, falling debris or getting literally swept away is immediate and palpable. Even the opening 10 minutes almost feels like a slasher film, with how Chung stages the vicious, raging tornado picking off characters one by one. The climax, taking place in a small town featuring a movie theater showing the original Frankenstein, is downright thrilling. Shooting on location in Oklahoma, Chung’s portrayal of Americana feels authentic and never patronizing. The communities the characters encounter who have had their lives torn apart by these twisters all feel genuine and help ground the films human stakes. Rarely has an American blockbuster in recent years captured the beauty of American landscapes and scenery quite like Chung and cinematographer Dan Mindel have.

Courtesy Universal Pictures

The original 1996 film starred Helen Hunt and the late, Bill Paxton, while Chung’s film is positioned squarely on Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Powell, coming off his career-best turn in Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, is once again in full movie star mode here. Looking like Tom Cruise from several decades ago, the actor radiates natural charisma that makes him never less than compelling to watch. Daisy Edgar-Jones, a gifted performer from films such as Fresh and the Where the Crawdads Sing, is unfortunately playing the film’s most uninteresting character. Jones is saddled with a flabby American accent that never quite gels and an arc that’s too undercooked to fully satisfy. Thankfully, the vibrant supporting cast including Sasha Lane (American Honey), David Corenswet (the soon-to-be Superman), Brandon Perea (Jordan Peele’s Nope), and Love Lies Bleeding breakout Katy O’Brien, rounds out the film with a sizable amount of charm. These characters aren’t particularly deep, but they do feel human. Some are playing basic archetypes, while others are given some nice subversions along the way.

We’re thankfully past the era of cheesy, ironic disaster flicks such as Sharknado and The Hurricane Heist. Twisters takes itself and its characters seriously, despite having well-timed humor and a fun tone. There’s no overt winking to the audience or having yet another cow fly across the screen. Chung’s film plays like a disaster film ripped straight from the 90’s. The script is heavy on exposition and tech-related mumbo-jumbo, but it doesn’t bog down the pacing. The soundtrack, featuring an eclectic roster of Country artists such as Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert and Jelly Roll does occasionally feel distracting, but brings enough poppy energy.

Courtesy Universal Pictures

Twisters is a highly entertaining summer thrillride. Anchored by a star lead in Glen Powell, top-notch effects works and strong direction by Lee Isaac Chung, this is by no means a new classic, but it is great fun.

Twisters is now playing in theaters.