Watch the trailer
Written by: Mark L. Smith (screenplay), Joseph Kosinski (story), Michael Crichton & Anne-Marie Martin (characters created by)
Directed by: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, Maura Tierney, Kiernan Shipka, Paul Scheer
Rated: PG-13
Plot
A retired tornado-chaser, now meteorologist is persuaded to return to Oklahoma's "Tornado Alley" to work with a new team and new technologies.
Verdict
This was much better than I expected. With tornadoes the stakes are always high. This remains exhilarating with each tornado, and frightening with the amount of collateral damage. It's a lot of fun, and it's well plotted. The main characters are working towards goals, though the means can be questioned. The underlying theme is trying to help people and prevent loss. That comes to a point with all characters towards the end. Glen Powell has a ton of charisma, but this refrains from slipping into common tropes which would have hampered the story.
Watch It.
Review
Following the 1996 disaster movie Twister, though it's a sequel in name only. It's not only exceeds expectations, it's better than the original.
This begins with Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and friends storm chasing, but it ends badly. That event sets the tone for the movie and it's the emotional trauma that plagues Kate throughout the movie. Skip ahead a few years and Kate is done storm chasing. When old friend Javi (Anthony Ramos) appears with a technology advancement that could revive her research, Kate takes the chance despite reservations.
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| Daisy Edgar-Jones plays Kate Carter |
The setup is a role reversal from the first movie where we followed a rag tag group of chasers with the corporate scientists as the antagonists. Here we root for Kate and the corporate scientists who face off against apparent adrenaline junkie and Youtube star Tyler Owens (Glen Powell). Kate and Tyler are presented as the two best tornado chasers. Kate wants to 3d map a tornado to learn new details while Tyler wants to a shoot a video and sell merchandise. We learn with Kate that there's more to Tyler than first assumed. He's a genuinely nice and looking to help people amidst turmoil. Powell does a great job in the role.
Kate hasn't dealt with her earlier trauma, and being in a tornado again causes her to panic. She also realizes Javi isn't just about science. He's had to compromise in order to push his scientific breakthroughs.
The plot comes full circle with Kate revisiting her old research with the encouragement and help of Tyler. They want to stop a tornado. There's chemistry between Tyler and Kate, but I appreciate the movie has the restraint to leave that in the background and focus on tornadoes. Trying to force a romance would just cheapen the story.
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| Glen Powell plays Tyler Owens |
Of course the final showdown is people versus tornado. You'd think people living in "Tornado Alley" would refrain from having a street fair and baseball game during this time, but everyone in this town is outside and a big tornado forms, poised to hit the town directly. It's too easy of a setup. Kate and Tyler rush to help, but Kate soon realizes the tornado will level the town. The only way to help is to test her theories. Will it work this time?
Having recently rewatched the original, I was surprised at the shallowness. It released at the right time while providing a fresh concept. While this is only a spiritual successor, in contrast Twisters is a fun ride. The lead characters have some depth and drive. The only link I saw to the original movie was the "Dorothy" probe canister that inexplicable appears and is never directly addressed. This only hints at a potential relationship between Kate and Tyler towards the end and that's it. This is a tornado movie and should remain that way. I'm glad the writers realized that.
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