Twisters: Film Review
A fun and thrilling ride through tornado alley.
Twisters is finally here. Depending on how you want to look at this movie it is either a remake or a stand-alone sequel to 1996’s Twister. But don’t get too tied down by this technicality.
When you purchase your ticket, you should know exactly what to expect: tornado chases that create suspense, moments of humour, and a blossoming romance between Tyler Owen (Glenn Powell) and Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar Jones).
Glenn Powell brings charm and life to this film as the adrenaline-seeking, tornado-loving Tyler, a YouTuber filming the chasers he and his team go on. Meanwhile, Kate is a meteorologist who works on a technology that could potentially reduce the intensity of a tornado before a tragic tornado chase derails her career. It’s not until Javi (Anthony Ramos) convinces Kate to join his team to get 3-D maps of tornados that her world collides with Tyler’s.
Sure, their first impressions of one another are premature but as the movie progresses, their passive-aggressive flirting helps reveal layers to each other’s characters that allow Kate to rekindle her project to stop tornados in their tracks. You will find Tyler’s team's passion for tornados infectious and Javi’s team, Storm Spa leaving little to be desired.
Two types of tornados are present in Twisters; they are either monolithic monsters that torment people and destroy everything in their path or are sources of comedy that help keep the film light and vibrant.
You will find easter eggs and scenes that link to 1996’s Twister in ways that are on the nose and others that require you to be more eagle-eyed but this film is in no way a carbon copy of the original, rather it’s an attempt to imagine what a tornado film would look like in 2024.
I’ll be honest, I enjoyed this film. Do I have any desire to see it again? No. What it did achieve was the ability to keep me focused on the screen for two hours and not worry about the world around me. There are weaknesses in the script that a critical eye could use to tear this film apart, but such critics should not take Twisters too seriously.
Just sit back and enjoy the wonder of nature.
Liam Donohoe