Twisters is not a direct sequel to the original Twister movie from the ’90s, but it’s still kind of a fun movie to watch on the big screen and the epitome of a summer popcorn flick. Although, I admit that I wish it was a direct sequel and that we had a new generation of tornado chasers, but sadly, it’s just a typical weather disaster movie with non-stop action and main characters that look good on the screen, and without the gravitas of the original. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not bad-mouthing the movie and telling you not to see it, but it’s easily a movie that we’re going to compare to the original and unfortunately, It’s nowhere near as good as the 1996 movie, Twister. I was hoping it would be. I remember seeing the original on the big screen in 1996 right before I went to college… loved it and I still do, not only for the great action scenes, but for the great characters that help make the movie. Twisters has at least two great characters. Daisy Edgar-Jones plays Kate, a brilliant scientist who has been chasing tornadoes to learn more about them and hopefully stop them before they destroys town. Glen Powell plays the cowboy who chases tornadoes for a popular YouTube channel, but is also a scientist himself. Starting on imposing sides, they eventually team up and that’s where the real adventure begins.
This movie is mostly about great action scenes with the undeniable chemistry of the two lead actors. It’s clear there will probably be a love story and that’s okay, because you can’t help but like the two main characters as they have a pension for adventure and have the same goal of trying to help people survive tornadoes. However, what the film really lacks in comparison to the original is a diverse bunch of characters that help make the movie more than just a disaster film. All the other characters are not that interesting except for Javi and that’s one of the worst parts about this movie, but Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell more than make up for it through their performances.
A good movie should be more than its main characters and that’s what the original had. Really what this film has going for it is the action sequences They’re intense. The shots with the characters sitting inside of tornado are great and you can tell they use the same techniques from Top Gun: Maverick with GoPro cameras so you get a good-looking movie that in some ways will keep you on the edge of your seat. But is it enough to make it a great movie … definitely not. And part of what makes this movie not as good as it could have been is it runs into the same problem with Michael Bay films where it’s all style and no substance… Big explosions and great action sequences can’t make what should be a good story any better. There are certainly some tender moments, in fact, I think the most dramatic appointment moments come when they’re at the rodeo and a tornado hits, as well as when Tyler visits Kate at her family farm. But these are scenes that happen way too late to add enough substance to this film whereas in the original you immediately jumped into the dramatic part of the story with the main characters trying to finalize a divorce and then start chasing tornadoes while working out their problems. They’re more struggle with the characters that adds more substance to the original film.
I’m not saying that Twisters is a bad film, it’s “Meh!” It really suffers by not being a direct sequel to the original and then paying homage to the light Bill Paxton. The character of Kate being his daughter would have made a much better story. The other thing that becomes quite annoying throughout the film is the soundtrack itself. I love the original soundtrack which had to make sure of classic rock and roll and ’90s pop. The overuse of rock and roll country music, which isn’t even true country to begin with is annoying and makes some of the characters look less likable. I’ll always criticize the use of music because music is absolutely important in a film. There’s a lot of good Texas country that could have been used for this film, especially outlaw country, but if you want more of a rock and roll feel then don’t have fake country music… actually have rock and roll. Overall, it’s an enjoyable enough film that’s worth a cheap movie ticket because it is a movie that should be seen on the big screen. It’s the kind of movie where you should go support movie theaters, but don’t get caught up in wanting a better story or more drama among the characters that you can relate to. This is still just an action movie with two interesting lead characters and it does set up the potential for sequels which I think we should get because disaster movies are always fine on the big screen. Twisters is your typical summer popcorn flick and that’s not a bad thing, but yes, too many missed opportunities to make this film better than what it is. Recently we had the perfect example of a direct sequel for films that were made 30 or 40 years ago In Beverly Hills Cop 4. Everything worked while paying homage to the original films. Top Gun: Maverick absolutely proved you can make a great sequel set 30 years after the original… they should have done this with Twisters and had Helen Hunt play Kate’s mom in the movie. Maybe that’s what this movie suffers from the most, the missed opportunities to make a better story. However, for a good old-fashioned summer popcorn action movie, it does work and should be seen on the big screen!
