TWISTERS (2024)

Genre: Action/Adventure
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Cast: Daisy Edgar Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, Harry Hadden-Paton, Sasha Lane, Daryl McCormack, Kiernan Shipka, Nik Dodani, David Corenswet, Tunde Adebimpe, Katy O'Brian, Paul Scheer
Runtime: 2 hrs 3 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Intense Sequences)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 18 July 2024

Synopsis: This summer, the epic studio disaster movie returns with an adrenaline-pumping, seat-gripping, big- screen thrill ride that puts you in direct contact with one of nature’s most wondrous—and destructive— forces.

Movie Review:

Nearly three decades after the mega-summer blockbuster that swept audiences away, most notably with the help of a flying cow, ‘Twisters’ aims to ride on the same weather phenomenon to deliver a similar dose of rip-roaring spectacle.

Not surprisingly, given the advances of modern-day CGI, the titular tornados featured here are an awe-inspiring sight to behold, whether they be rippling through an underpass, tearing up a nighttime rodeo or playing with chimneys of fire at a power station. But like its predecessor, ‘Twisters’ is ultimately a fun ride not only because of its dazzling visuals, but also because amidst the cataclysms, there is a whole lot of fun and heart within.

Kudos to executive producer Steven Spielberg, who no doubt had a commanding hand in steering this sequel, not just in its casting but also just as importantly in its choice of director. Seeing how much the fondness of the earlier movie was due to the pairing of Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt as an estranged couple, it would have imperative for ‘Twisters’ to ensure that it had the right leading couple, and in this respect, we dare say Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones have risen handsomely to the challenge.

Starting off as a bickering pair, with Edgar-Jones’ meteorologist Kate initially derisive of Powell’s preening cowboy Tyler, it probably comes as little surprise that both Tyler and Kate will come to discover a different side and even take a liking to each other, although the fact that the transformation is as winning as it is credit to the chemistry between the actors.

Just as interesting is how the plot, written by Mark L. Smith (of ‘The Revenant’) from a “story by” Joseph Kosinski (of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’), also introduces a third dimension to the Tyler-Kate relationship in Anthony Ramos’ Javi, who had survived a tragedy that claimed the lives of their fellow classmates five years ago while out on a science experiment during an EF-5 and is instrumental in coaxing Kate out of her New York desk job back into the field.

Suffice to say that just as Tyler isn’t who he seems at first glance, so too Javi and his serious-minded scientist friends may not be as altruistic as they claim to be. The Tyler-Kate-Javi dynamic is surprisingly engaging, and adds layers to a narrative that finds its pathos in the real cost to individuals, families and communities of such meteorological events.

It is also therefore befitting that Korean-American filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung, whose most recent film was the character-driven Oscar-nominated drama ‘Minari’, was chosen to direct this.

While an unlikely choice, Chung’s affection for the American Midwest, rooted in his own upbringing in rural Arkansas, makes the movie unexpectedly poignant; in particular, Chung would have known firsthand the devastating impact of the ubiquitous storms of the Midwest, and he grounds the movie not just in its Oklohama setting but also in its portrait of the peoples living through such calamities. We love the lived-in feel, and it is credit to Chung that Kate’s communes with the swaying wheat and bulbous clouds doesn’t come off contrived or even laughable.

So thanks to Powell, Edgar-Jones and even Ramos, as well as Chung’s assured hand, ‘Twisters’ delivers not only the spectacle you would expect from such a summer blockbuster, but the grace notes of a movie premised on weather-borne disaster. You’ll be terrified by its depiction of tornadoes, and perhaps even mesmerised by certain scientific nuggets (like the Fujiwhara effect; go Google it); you’ll be entertained by the wit between Powell and Edgar-Jones; and just as significantly, you’ll be moved by its portrayal of homes, lives and livelihoods lost due to such extreme weather events.

‘Twisters’ is ultimately a worthy standalone sequel that more than lives up to the legacy of its predecessor, and a perfect summer popcorn blockbuster in more ways than one.

Movie Rating:

(With its lived-in feel of the American Midwest, 'Twisters' is the rare summer blockbuster that delivers thrills, fun and pathos with its mix of spectacle, star chemistry and humanity)

Review by Gabriel Chong