TWIST AND SHOUT // A FILM REVIEW OF “TWISTERS”
BY MATEO MORENO
In 1996, Jan de Bont directed the film Twister, a thrilling state-of-the-art special effect banger, with thrill seeking storm chasers taking us (the audience) right into the heart of tornados themselves. Now nearly 30 years later, TWISTERS the latest tale of tornado chasers. It’s not quite a sequel; think of it more as a stand-alone film in the world of Twister, and this time we are following an all-new group of storm chasers. Director Lee Issac Chung takes over the reins and Daisy Edger-Jones leads the pack as Kate, a scientist who, along with a team of her friends in Oklahoma open the film chasing a very dangerous tornado. Tragedy strikes the group of friends, and we flash forward five years. Kate is now living in New York City and is still traumatized by her past. Javi (Anthony Ramos), one of those storm chasing friends of hers, shows back up in her life and offers her a position on his new team, a privately funded company that aims to predict where tornados will hit so that they can warn residents more efficiently. It takes a bit of convincing, but she eventually jumps on board the team and heads back into tornado alley with her old buddy.
They head to Oklahoma where a slew of other storm chasers, some professional and some not so much, are arriving to do exactly the same thing. One of those chasers is Tyler Owens (Glen Powell), a “good-old-boy” from Arkansas who became famous on YouTube for his “Tornado wrangling” and other dangerous stunts. He has a team as well, rough around the edges and completely different than Javi’s polished top of the line graduate team. But they have the same aim: to chase those dust cyclones in the sky. Tyler arrives on the scene as a loudmouth, arrogant celebrity chaser, but he recognizes Kate as someone who’s the real deal and knows that if she’s heading one direction, that’s probably the way to go. Both teams head into the belly of the beast, with the trauma of the past pushing Kate and Javi and the quest for fame pushing Tyler and his crew. But there’s more to him than meets the eye, and both teams aren’t going to be traveling this road alone.
Twisters doesn’t in any way re-invent the wheel of action films, or even do much more than the original did. It also doesn’t really approach the topic of global warming, something that clearly is having an effect on the frequency of storms like this. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of real heart and tenderness riding along the action. However, that doesn’t make it any less fun, especially on a huge IMAX screen. The special effects are quite dynamic as are the three leads. Daisy Edger-Jones gives Kate a nice touch of excitement and edge. She knows that she’s going to be underestimated, but she also knows that she’s a badass. Edgar-Jones also plays the emotional trauma tagging along very well, as does Anthony Ramos as her old friend Javi. Ramos is dynamic on screen (as witnessed by anyone who saw him in In the Heights or Hamilton) and I love the choice of not sidelining him for the two “will-they-or-won’t-they-couple.” His arc is just as important to the story and his chemistry with Edgar-Jones is great. Glen Powell pulls a much bigger and (at first) broader performance but he’s equally as good, smarmy and charming at the same time and as the character broadens shows real tenderness with Edgar-Jones. The supporting cast are all fun in various degrees but aren’t really fleshed out super well. That tends to be the case for supporting players in an action movie like this. Twisters is a popcorn popping, high octane thrill ride, one that works whether you’ve seen the first film or not. As long as you have a sense of fun and adventure in your day, Twisters might just blow you away.
GRADE: B+
BASED ON CHARACTERS CREATED BY Michael Crichton, Anne-Marie Martin STORY BY Joseph Kosinski SCREENPLAY BY Mark L. Smith DIRECTED BY Lee Issac Chung STARRING Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, David Corenswet, Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, Harry Hadden-Paton, Sasha Lane, Katy O’Brian, Tunde Adebimpe, Kiernan Shipka, Nik Dodani. NOW PLAYING IN THEATRES EVERYWHERE