This is my in-depth, spoiler-free review of the movie Twisters that I shared on social media. I watched the movie in IMAX.
Right off the top, GO SEE TWISTERS! This movie lives up to the hype. The OG Twister has become one of the most beloved disaster flicks of all time. It inspired new generations (me included) of storm chasers and meteorologists, taking storm chasing to the mainstream. “Twisters” had big shoes to fill, and it filled them and then some, without ever trying to be the original. Incredibly, “Twisters” re-captures a lot of the magic of the first movie, while blazing its own path with new characters, a reimagined story, and a breakthrough in tornado CGI.
The movie flows seamlessly between the incredible edge of your seat action, to the slower moments where we get to explore rather dynamic characters, something that seems to be quite rare in modern disaster flicks. I found the storyline to be quite engaging. Sure, the plot is straight forward, but director Lee Isaac Chung did a great job of creating depth to the overall story that gives the characters layers that get peeled back over the course of the film. The cinematography was on point and had some incredible action sequences. Chung did a great job capturing the beauty and spirit of Oklahoma.
You find yourself invested in the characters, rooting for them. The ensemble cast meshed well together, much like the first film. The casting was spot on. Though I must admit, the absence of Dusty (played by the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman) just leaves a void that will never be replaced. Boone (played by Brandon Perea) was a fun and memorable character with the already famous line, “We’ve got twins!” Still, the magic that Hoffman brought with Dusty created this unique fun energy that made the OG film so incredibly enjoyable to watch. Hoffman’s genius will never be replicated, and “Twisters” doesn’t really let Boone’s character shine like Dusty. Still, the rag-tag team that is the Tornado Wranglers are a joy to watch, and you find yourself rooting for them throughout the movie.
Daisy Edgar Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos nailed the lead roles. They anchor this film, and Chung did a fantastic job handling the “love triangle” between the three. Kate (Edgar Jones) has a whit and confidence about her that makes her a worthy female lead comparable to Jo Harding (Helen Hunt) from the first film. Edgar Jones brings a certain charm and intrigue that creates a dynamic and memorable role. You really see her vulnerability and her resolve as she encounters all these intense tornado intercepts while still working through PTSD and guilt from the opening sequence of the film. No spoilers! Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) is such a likeable character. I’m sure the ladies will agree. This character is based loosely off the real-life storm chaser, Reed Timmer (who is a national treasure btw) and his Dominator, where he has a large social media following and has a knack for successfully “zero metering” tornadoes. In fact, Owens, one liner, “If you feel it, chase it” echoes Timmer’s “Never stop chasing” mantra. Tyler Owens is introduced in a way that feels a lot like Hangman from Top Gun: Maverick, where Powell plays the whole “I am good. I’m very good” type. But as you get deeper into the story, you discover there’s real substance to Tyler and you discover his humanity. Powell hits this role out of the park, and his performance would have made the late Bill Paxton proud. Anthony Ramos plays Javi, and I have to say, I really found myself rooting for him in the movie. I love the moral conflict he is faced with, and his resolve. Also, the scene with he and Kate driving in reverse while fleeing a tornado that is overtaking them, is my favorite of the whole movie, and they both absolutely killed that part. Everything about that scene feels authentic and looks realistic. It is my single all-time favorite tornado scene.
Speaking of tornadoes, I must talk about the CGI and special effects. Something that always bothered me about the original Twister was the tornadoes were not very realistic looking, and they blew debris away from them, instead of sucking things up. When I met with someone working on the film, I stressed this point. I am sure other chasers and meteorologists who also consulted with the filmmakers also emphasized this point, and that the tornadoes should be occurring with supercell storms, and not randomly forming under stratus clouds. If you’re going to talk about the “suck zone”, well, your tornadoes better suck! Thankfully, the VFX team listened, and they basically hit a walk off grand slam to win the World Series with the CGI tornado sequences they came up with. There were times when I was sitting there in awe at how realistic the tornadoes felt. Their movement, cloud motion and appearance all felt genuine. Now there are some silly scenes with some rather outlandish things happening, like an oil pump jack flying overhead, while the buildings below remain completely intact. If the wind is strong enough to hurl a pump jack through the air, its strong enough to rip the buildings to shreds and suck our beloved stars into oblivion. But this is a Hollywood action flick, so you are required to suspend disbelief to fully enjoy the ride. Again, the CGI in this movie is incredible, and the way they seamlessly paired that with the live action sequences should have Twisters lined up for some awards for visual effects.
The sound effects were solid, other than the pulsing sound that comes with the tornadoes. I’m not sure how the sound FX team thought that particular sound effect would add to the realism of the tornado, because it had an opposite effect. Still, the tornado sound effects in “Twisters” easily tops the ridiculous growling sounds with the tornadoes in “Twister.”
The only real disappointment with this movie was the musical score. Honestly, going into it, I knew that the OG Twister score composed by Mark Mancina will always remain undefeated. Mancina masterfully composed a score that harkened to the frontier days and classic Americana and perfectly combined that with the energy and sounds of Van Halen. The score flawlessly guides the film, setting the tone throughout. And any hardcore Twister fan knows that ominous bass glissando motif that is the film’s calling card for impending doom. Dusty’s “It’s the Wonder of Nature” scene with the mashup of “Child in Time/William Tell Overture/Oklahoma” is a soundtrack masterclass.
The score in Twisters was largely a miss. It’s the only aspect of the movie that felt more like “Into the Storm” vs. “Twister.” It had no real soul or identity. Unlike the OG score that guided the 1996’s “Twister”, the “Twisters” score seems lost. There were no memorable overtures or motifs. The songs that make up the “Twisters” soundtrack were solid and worked, but no Van Halen is a miss. I particularly liked “Out of Oklahoma” by Lainey Wilson. While I’m not a big fan of post 90’s country music, this song gets you in the feels and was well-placed in a moment of moral conflict in the movie and transitions into the next act as Kate goes back to her roots.
Twisters is the classic summer blockbuster we hoped it would be, and storm chasers and the weather community should be able to relate to a much more accurate meteorological representation of the storms, albeit not perfect. “Twisters” made a solid attempt to capture the storm chasing culture, but with an already 2-hour runtime, there wasn’t much room left to really explore the nuances of intercepting tornadoes. “Twisters” still gives a false perception that supercells and tornadoes just magically and instantly appear out of nowhere, because, well, time constraints. In reality, storm chasing is mostly waiting, followed by disappointment, and then, more disappointment. But make no mistake, if you go see “Twisters”, you will not be disappointed.
In general, I think it paints a positive light for chasers, showing them helping out afterwords and generally being cool, although most chasers irl aren’t nearly as extreme as the protagonists. I’m going to see the movie in IMAX with my dad tomorrow; I’ll post again with my thoughts on it.
