Twisters is an incredibly fun reboot of one of the most popular disaster movies ever. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Man, it’s been a while since we’ve gotten a proper natural disaster flick.
What was once a staple of Hollywood has taken a back seat, and I don’t really understand why. But now, in 2024, two of the brightest upcoming film actors today, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glenn Powell, have come together for a reboot/sequel of the classic disaster movie Twister.
While there is no direct correlation with the 1996 Bill Paxton original, Twisters (see the ‘s’, which means it is a sequel, apparently) is very similar in premise.
A group of tornado chasers are looking to test new equipment/technology to better map tornados and reduce the damage they cause.
In the newer film, we meet Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her team of storm chasers. Kate is a brilliant meteorologist whose life work revolves around finding a way to dissipate active tornados.
After an experiment goes wrong, Kate retires from chasing the tornados and instead categorises them behind a desk. Of course, in order for the movie to happen, she is brought into the fray to once again continue her experiment but is challenged by a rag-tag group of streamers led by Tyler (Glenn Powell), someone who sees tornado chasing as a thrill.
First things first, this film looks phenomenal. The tornados and the damage they cause are so exciting. The work the film does to build the excitement of initially seeing a tornado before flipping the switch on how powerful and destructive they are is fantastic.
While the tornados in the original don’t look bad by any means, the advancement of SFX technology over the last 28 years is clear to see.
One particular scene towards the end of the film, which has flames being sucked into one of the film’s biggest twisters, was particularly awesome.
The two leads are also great. They’re not Oscar contenders by any means, but they’re building names for themselves with a solid resume of fun movies. Glenn Powell is having a stellar year with a box office surprise in Anyone but You and the fantastic Hitman.
The duo bounce off each other nicely and their love for storm chasing is clear, despite their motives for doing so being very different.
I wasn’t as sold on the supporting cast, however. Aside from a British reporter who is following the streamers (he was a clever character device to give exposition and explain science lingo to the audience without being too heavy-handed), not every choice landed. In particular, the group of suits who are conducting the experiments came off as quite idiotic and one note.
I also wasn’t buying a few of the character motives during the later part of the second act. Some decisions didn’t make a lot of sense, especially when the characters in question had only known each other for a couple of days and in passing of one another.
That said, Twisters is a lot of fun. The special effects are fantastic and the sounds and visuals of the destruction make it worth seeing on the big screen alone. Add two very likeable leads and you have a very solid disaster flick.
I would encourage those thinking about whether to see this at the cinema to do so. It’s meant to be experienced with the biggest screen and the loudest speakers, not in a gloomy bedroom with a tiny laptop.
Twisters is currently showing in cinemas across the country.
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