Twister

TWISTERS (12)

D: Lee Isaac Chung

Universal / Warner Bros / Amblin (Frank Marshall & Patrick Crowley)

US 🇺🇸 2024

122 mins

Adventure

W: Mark L. Smith [based on a story by Joseph Kosinski and characters by Michael Crichton & Anne-Marie Martin]

DP: Dan Mindel

Ed: Terilyn A. Shropshire

Mus: Benjamin Wallfisch

Daisy Edgar-Jones (Kate Carter), Glen Powell (Tyler Owens), Anthony Ramos (Javi), Brandon Perea (Boone), Maura Tierney (Cathy)

**POTENTIAL SPOILERS**

Of all the “completely unnecessary sequels”  that Hollywood seem to keep churning out, one which I wasn’t expecting was a sequel to the 1996 disaster adventure “Twister”, nor was I expecting it to be on a par with the original film, let alone (possibly) better.

In fairness, this is a loose remake of the 1996 film, merely set in the hot spot for tornado activity in US state of Oklahoma, with barely any reference to the original film and stepping on the same basic plot points.

Daisy Edgar-Jones steps into the Helen Hunt role, as Kate Carter, an aspirational young scientist and tornado expert who is convinced to return home to help complete an experiment that she was integral in establishing.  Alongside her, the cowboy-like “tornado wrangler”, Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) is introduced as though he could be the antagonist of the film, but the real “twister” (ha ha) is that she’s working for the ‘bad guys’ and by working with Tyler, they work at creating an apparatus that could make a tornado far less destructive.

One minor gripe I had with the film was the opener, an action set pieces to get an audience to pay attention, for sure, but it would have been far more dramatic had it been saved for a reveal much later in the narrative, especially since it makes the principal character look like a naive idealist, as well as robbing the character of any real sympathy (at least for me) for the first half of the movie, since she was incredibly responsible for the tragic events.  Nevertheless, Daisy Edgar-Jones does a fine job in the lead, and has very strong on-screen chemistry with Glen Powell, who fits the character of Tyler Owens like a glove, even if he is quickly becoming greatly typecast in the roguish, rebellious, knight in shining armour roles.

Director Lee Isaac Chung steers completely away from politics focusing on the action, the journey and some incredible special effects, when this could easily have been used as a preachy lecture on climate change or the environment by other filmmakers.  It doesn’t set itself up to be anything more than it is, which is an entertaining wild ride and nothing more, which I’m all for. Fasten your seatbelts for this one, as it is a bumpy ride.

7/10