1996’s Twister was a cultural phenomenon that took everyone by surprise. The disaster film had the DNA of many of its predecessors with a 90s flair that gave it a distinct look. Millennials and above deem this movie a classic with its subtle humor, neat camera tricks, and not-too-shabby special effects/CGI. Now it appears that WB hopes to catch lightning in a bottle twice with filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung’s Twisters.
The film has all the markings to be a summer blockbuster; however, a couple of things dampen the chances of Twisters reaching the heights of the 1996 movie directed by Jan de Bont.
Chung teams up with writer Mark L. Smith for Twisters to justify why we care about tornado-chasers. The story follows Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a walking, breathing Doppler 9000. She, alongside Javi (Anthony Ramos) and a few of their tornado-chasing friends, work together to prove a theory on preventing tornados. Tragedy strikes and Kate walks away from the game, only to return years later when Javi asks for aid.
She and Javi encounter Tyler (Glen Powell) and his band of tornado-chasing misfits, where the two groups compete for bragging rights. Going into this movie, you should know that the action scenes and artistic direction from Chung are worth the admission.
The marketing for Twisters promises a thrill ride, and it doesn’t disappoint. Chung conveys excitement with his direction for the movie that screams summer blockbuster. He takes the concept of destruction caused by tornadoes and gives me something new to marvel at every time. From the first action beat, Chung fully immersed me in the ride and alongside the characters. The director used great camera timing and movement, which kept me engaged while painting a clear and mesmerizing picture of these tornados at work.
It’s easy to make something so tedious, but Chung uses different and exciting ways to showcase the power of these tornadoes and their effects on the characters. The director creates innovative ways to raise the stakes throughout the movie. Consequently, that’s not where Chung’s creative and artistic eye stops.
I was shocked to discover that Chung’s next film after the multiple award-winning film Minari would be a disaster film. Yet, I understood his intentions when watching Twisters. Chung wanted to bring some artistic and beautiful shots of the Midwest in what could’ve been junk food cinema. He does this by utilizing wide-open shots of the countryside to grasp the picturesque landscape fully. The director continues this on an intimate scale by featuring townfolks enjoying their lives. There’s a level of “American Heartland” that communicates hope and joy between the chaotic tornado scenes, allowing a much-needed breather.
Although Chung tries to make the movie entertaining during its over two-hour runtime, the acting and writing are left to be desired.
The cast does a good enough job to keep the moving engaging, but it comes off as wooden or stiff. Powell carries a level of charm that he’s known for, which is what the film calls. It was enough for me to like his character, but that was about it. There were several scenes where Powell must be a bit more serious. Sadly, he comes off as less authentic during those moments and more in the vein of squinting his eyes clenching his jaw a bit tight.
Daisy Edgar-Jones’s performance falls in the subpar-average category. I could see the potential of better acting a few times during Twisters, but nothing more. The writing didn’t give her character enough material to bring more nuance. Additionally, Anthony Ramos gets the worst of it. His character goes between staring at the situation with his mouth half open and doubting Kate’s intuition as a tornado chaser.
The funny thing about all of this is that all three of them have the skills to bring life to their characters—we’ve seen this in their past work.
Jones and Powell’s chemistry potentially matches that of Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt’s work in the 1996 movie. Apart from this, Ramos has had some good to terrific character moments in his previous films like In The Heights and even Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. All actors are capable, but they are wasted for the most part, and the writing possibly does that.
The script for Twisters starts strong. The beginning establishes these new characters, mission, themes, and even the stakes in a genuine way. It brings in a big dramatic moment that ripples throughout the movie. However, the movie doesn’t raise the prospects it promised and instead takes bits and pieces from the 1996 movie.
Specific story beats in Twisters share many similarities with Twister that are stitched together almost like a Frankenstein’s monster. One strong example is when a tornado hits a town at night, which echoes what happened in the 1996 film. It’s visually entertaining, but I sat there thinking that I’d seen this before and that it had better characters and story beats in the Twister.
I wasn’t expecting David Mamet, Berry Jenkins, or Aaron Sorkin-level writing—I just wanted to feel something for these characters, and that didn’t happen. An example of shotty writing is when the character tries to explain the science of these tornadoes. There was little to no frame of reference to help me understand what they were saying, and I doubt the actors understood it, either.
Twisters is entertaining despite the movie’s shortcomings. Chung can visually stimulate the brain with his style of filmmaking and even give the film a scene or two to meditate on. The actors could’ve been more lively from our leading cast, and Smith’s script would’ve succeeded more if it didn’t heavily rely on Twister for guidance. Nonetheless, it’s a big-budget disaster film with all the bells and whistles worthy of audiences’ hard-earned dollars on the big screen.