Why? A simple question that I think most film executives and producers rarely ask themselves. Yes, the original was a blockbuster and made the studio a lot of money.
Yes, it advanced computer-generated visual effects and had one of the most memorable trailers of all time (the flying cow). But that was 28 years ago—a long time ago, a stone age when pagers were the to-go- to mobile communication devices and social media wasn’t even a concept, let alone streaming services.
If it’s not broken, you don’t need to fix it. Some masterpieces just need to be left alone, something Hollywood doesn’t care about if there’s profit to be made.
Those were my thoughts as I settled in to watch a movie that was not a prequel nor a remake of a movie that is more of a cult classic.
So, 2 hours and 2 minutes later, does the new movie work and prove me wrong?
Twisters
Twisters is a 2024 American disaster film directed by Lee Isaac Chung from a screenplay by Mark L. Smith, based on a story by Joseph Kosinski.
Serving as a standalone sequel to Twister (1996), the film stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, and Sasha Lane.
Synopsis
Haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado, Kate Cooper is lured back to the open plains by her friend Javi to test a groundbreaking new tracking system.
She soon crosses paths with Tyler Owens, a charming but reckless social media superstar who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures.
As storm season intensifies, Kate, Tyler, and their competing teams find themselves in a fight for their lives as multiple systems converge over central Oklahoma.
What worked
This is a very entertaining movie that reminded me of the 90s style of filmmaking with its pacing and general tone.
Despite being a disaster movie, there are a lot of fun moments that keep the film highly engaging.
The movie exploits its absurd plot to create thrilling moments of absolute genius or idiotic decision making—like shooting fireworks directly into the middle of a tornado.
The visual effects and cinematography are impressive, with tornadoes looking realistic and conveying a large-scale sense of destruction.
Moments like tornadoes on fire are both visually striking and terrifying. The movie doesn’t romanticise disasters; terrible things happen to good people.
Glen Powell as the lead was a great choice. Though Daisy Edgar-Jones brings in the much serious and grounded themes, Glen Powell injects energy and shifts the movie’s tone.
Their on-screen chemistry is good, though it can’t quite compare to Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton in the first movie.
The soundtrack, pacing, and direction style reminded me of a Spielberg movie. This film feels very much like the first one, starting with some characters motivation.
The director made a point not to deviate from the disaster movie tropes established in the original, and that leads us to what didn’t work for me.
What didn’t work
If you’ve seen the first movie, there’s nothing new here.
From the plot points to character motivations and objectives, this movie feels like a direct replica of the first one.
It sets itself up in the opening scene exactly like the original, and the ending, while slightly different, will remind you of it too.
The movie is proof that Hollywood is out of touch with the real world. Glen Powell’s character is a YouTuber with a million followers, which is portrayed as a big deal.
In reality, modern dare devil YouTubers often have 10 million or more followers. With the risky stunts he was doing, he would have far more followers in real life.
There was an opportunity to create something truly different and original during the third act with the fire, but the filmmakers, after an epic introduction to that scene, let the concept fizzle out, leading to the same old third act trope.
Conclusion
Suppose you’ve never seen the first movie. In that case, this one is perfect: it’s entertaining, and engaging, the chemistry between the three main characters is excellent, and Lee Isaac Chung’s direction gives us a compact disaster movie with thrills and jaw-dropping moments.
If you saw the first movie, this is a replica, from the tropes to the character motivations and plot points.
Yes, there are moments where the characters feel better fleshed out than in the first movie, but as the credits rolled, I thought to myself that I should have just waited for it on streaming.
