TWISTERS – A Review by John Strange
Have you seen the 1996 hit Twister which starred Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton as storm chasers? Well, Universal is releasing a sequel to the film. I say sequel but it is truly a standalone film with the same basis in facts and fanciful fiction. Twisters is a whole new film that posits, “Can we shut tornados down?” while giving us a wild ride film very similar in look to its predecessor.
We have Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a scientist in Oklahoma who tried to shut down a tornado as a college project only to have the project end in disaster. Five years later we find Kate living in New York City and working for the National Weather Service, a nice safe desk job.
The story follows Kate and a team of storm chasers led by Javi (Anthony Ramos), the only other survivor of the college disaster. In place of the first film’s Cary Elwes, we have Glen Powell (Tyler Owens), a “Tornado Wrangler” aka storm chaser who has a huge internet following and groupies.
There are some good plot twists and turns combined with some really nice family moments that reminded me a lot of the first film. In both, we have family and teams taking an important role in the films. Speaking of family, watch for Bill Paxton’s son James as Cody in the film!
The CGI is excellent, the action is wild, and the story is well-written. The filmmakers have loaded the film with scads of “easter eggs” related to the first movie. Some are obvious but others are going to take a sharp eye to catch.
And there are a few oops moments. Watch to see if you see any antennas connected to the radios on the truck dashboards. Listen when the white Ram truck accelerates is a dangerous moment. Do you hear the electric truck’s engine roar? Can you imagine a movie theater, obviously built decades ago, in TORNADO ALLEY without a STORM SHELTER? And I am no expert, but who would put a water tower in the middle of town? And while there are no flying cows, there are some interesting objects swept along by the winds.
Despite these small bits of “oops”, I had a great time watching this film! Just remember, like most summer action/adventure flicks, check your brain in the jar by the door and enjoy!
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, Sasha Lane, Harry Hadden-Patton, David Corenswet, Daryl McCormack, Tunde Adebimpe, Katy O’Brian, Nik Dodani, Kiernan Shipka, Paul Scheer
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for intense action and peril, some language and injury images)
Selig Rating: 4.5 Stars
Runtime: 115 Min.
Release Date: 07/19/2024
Language: English
Genre: Disaster Epic
Movie Site: TWISTERS Official Site
Trailer: TWISTERS Official Trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well, there was nothing else…
1 Star – Total waste of time.
