When a sequel to Twister was originally announced in 2020, my general reaction was one of confusion. Even though the original 1996 film was massively successful (the second-highest-grossing movie that year, in fact), it’s not a movie that people were clamouring for a sequel all these decades later. Things seemed even weirder when Lee Isaac Chung, fresh off his Oscar-winning family drama Minari, was tapped to direct. And yet, despite the weirdness of these combined elements, the simply-titled sequel Twisters manages to be a good enough redux of a classic, all thanks to some entertaining setpieces and a likable cast.
In Twisters’ opening moments, we’re introduced to Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones), an Oklahoma-based storm-chaser in the midst of an ambitious experiment where she hopes to dissipate a tornado with the use of a special compound. Tragically, the experiment goes wrong, and the tornado claims the lives of several of her friends. Five years later, a still-traumatized Daisy has settled for a meteorology desk job in New York when she gets contacted by her old friend and fellow survivor Javi (Anthony Ramos), who, as part of a new business venture, is using military-grade scanners to track tornado movements and wants her assistance for one week.
Daisy reluctantly accepts and upon her arrival, clashes with Tyler Owens (Glen Powell); a swaggering YouTube star and self-professed “tornado wrangler” who has his own more reckless approach to storm-chasing, as well as his own motley crew of daredevils. As you’d expect, the pair butt heads until a bond eventually starts to form, and the pair learn to work together as a rare tornado outbreak brings about bigger, more frequent and more dangerous storms throughout Oklahoma’s infamous “Tornado Alley.”
“…Glen Powell’s summer is still in full swing…”
Aside from an early use of the original’s storm-tracking sensor Dorothy, Twisters is a legacy sequel that operates completely standalone; its connection to the original is more on repeating story beats than direct callbacks. Kate shares the same near-supernatural instincts towards weather patterns that Bill Paxton’s character displayed in the original, there’s a rivalry between a rag-tag crew of misfits and a straight-laced corporate team, and of course, the will-they-won’t-they romance between the film’s two leads.
The updated versions of these beats are very hit-or-miss. Mark L. Smith’s screenplay does try to tackle bigger subjects like climate change and corporate exploitation of communities affected by disasters. Still, they either feel half-baked or so clichéd you can recite the exact words before they even deliver them. For instance, there is a scene where Kate discovers the businessman bankrolling Javi’s business isn’t as altruistic as it seems. Still, beyond the requisite argument with Javi, that whole plotline is resolved in a matter of seconds.
The same goes for the few moments the film tries to focus on character depth. Despite Daisy Edgar-Jones’ best efforts, Kate is a really bland protagonist. While it’s good Kate isn’t a carbon copy of Helen Hunt’s character, she has so little personality beyond her dealing with her survivor’s guilt that it almost would have been better to be that copy instead.
On the bright side, Glen Powell’s summer is still in full swing, and his white-hot charisma lights up the screen every time he’s on it. Sure, his whole “cocky showboat who’s actually a solid guy” shtick isn’t too far off from his Top Gun Maverick role, but Powell is so damn charming it’s hard to complain. Twisters is also filled with an absurdly stacked supporting cast, with soon-to-be-Superman David Corenswet as Javi’s uber-corporate business partner, as well as Nope’s Brandon Perea, Love Lies Bleeding standout Katy O’Brien and American Honey star Sasha Lane playing some of the various members of Tyler’s crew.
“…when it comes to the twisters themselves, they’re generally a lot of fun to watch.”
As entertaining as they are (especially Perea as Tyler’s videographer/right-hand man), unfortunately, we don’t get to spend much time with this crew this time. The same goes for Ramos, who gives a solid performance but is sidelined for a good part of the film.
Sure enough, when it comes to the twisters themselves, they’re generally a lot of fun to watch. There isn’t going to be the wow factor from back, considering the frequency of effects-driven blockbusters now, but sometimes the simple things work best, and Chung does a solid job capturing the sense of awe towards these massive storms. All the setpieces cross the realm of absurdity (especially how the characters talk about twisters akin to sacred beasts), but it’s still hard not to hoot and holler at seeing a tornado burst into flames.
There’s a unique charm to the first Twister that shines beyond the ridiculousness. Twisters can’t replicate it, but it does well enough with what it has. Seeing attractive people fight bad weather is a hard formula to really screw up, anyway. It’s pure, dumb summer fun.
