Twisters: Film Review
As a huge fan of the 1996 disaster movie Twister, I was super excited for Twisters and I was not disappointed!
The film follows Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones), who swears off tornado chasing after a tragedy. Five years later, she is lured back into the field by her old friend Javi (Anthony Ramos), who needs her instincts to help him make 3D scans of tornados for his fancy new company. Their venture is routinely interfered with by Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) and his team of ‘hillbilly YouTubers’.
First of all, this has been described as a standalone sequel but you really don’t need to have seen the first one. It’s great so you should anyway but it’s not necessary. The story is fresh and it’s a completely different set of people. There are a few references you’ll miss but they are inconsequential.
That being said, director Lee Isaac Chung has stayed very loyal to the original’s look, feel and structure. This feels like a classic ’90s movie with the inclusion of modern technology. The core of the story is similar (scientists trying to put things inside the vortex) and certain elements are the same (two competing teams) but the characters and emotional heart are different so it doesn’t feel like a complete repeat.
I was hooked from the beginning thanks to a thrilling opening sequence and was thoroughly entertained throughout by the tornado encounters and Powell’s charming performance. It doesn’t forget about building the characters either, giving us time to get to know them enough among the spectacle. The visual effects are fantastic, as are the production design and sound design.
Twisters does not surpass its predecessor for a couple of reasons. The tornado encounters didn’t excite me to the same degree as before. They were still cool (and there’s some crazy flying debris) but perhaps the novelty had worn off because we’d seen it before or because they were obviously CGI. I also wasn’t as invested in the wider crew this time around either because the likes of Sasha Lane, Brandon Perea and Katy O’Brian aren’t given enough screen time so we didn’t get the same banter and camaraderie.
Edgar-Jones and Ramos put in solid, grounded performances but they are outshone by the charisma machine that is Powell. He brings the fun, the energy and he just makes me smile. That’s a movie star right there!
It’s not perfect but I’m pleased to report that Twisters is a seriously enjoyable summer blockbuster. Go movies!
In cinemas from Wednesday 17th July