Twisters (2024)

I have to admit that when I first saw the trailers for 2024’s Twisters, I thought it looked like the most unnecessary sequel of all-time. It appeared to be nothing more than a straight-up remake of the 1996 original, albeit with larger, more delicious special effects and characters with more Gen-Z appeal. However, after its release, I began to hear good word-of-mouth and that it wasn’t just a retread of the Bill Paxton/Helen Hunt cable TV staple. So, I convinced my wife to watch it with me. And, you know what? It’s not that bad.

The connection between Twister and Twisters is tenuous at best. Literally the only connection to the original movie is the appearance of the Dorothy contraption that Helen Hunt’s character, Dr. Jo Harding, used to collect data from the inside of tornadoes. Beyond that, there are no story-based connections to the original film. (There are, however, cameos from people who appeared in the original movie and a brief appearance from the late Bill Paxton’s son, James.)

This time around, we’re focused on two main characters. There’s Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones,) a former graduate student who stopped tornado-chasing after a miscalculation resulted in the death of her friends, and Tyler (Glen Powell,) a YouTube superstar who recklessly follows tornadoes around Oklahoma using his good looks to hawk merchandise and gain more subscribers. When Kate is asked to return to Oklahoma to use her innate skill at predicting storms to help an old friend, she crosses paths with Tyler and, predictably, sparks fly.

While it might not have a direct connection to the 1996 original, Twisters feels like it could have been made around the same time. Director Lee Issac Chung (Minari) does his best to recreate the build-up and climax of late-90s enviro-disaster movies while providing enough action to satisfy today’s audience micro-attention spans. The script, by Mark L. Smith, serves up a predictable softball twist that keeps Twisters unique enough to be worth watching.

Glen Powell, who has become one of Hollywood’s hottest commodities lately, charms as the “tornado wrangler” with a heart of gold. Daisy Edgar-Jones, who I am unfamiliar with, reminded me of Holly Hunter, which is a high compliment, although her character isn’t as compelling as Tyler. As an on-screen pairing, though, they have excellent, if unusual, chemistry. Anthony Ramos (Dumb Money) effectively plays the pivotal role of Javi, the character who brings Kate out of retirement. The ragtag bunch of characters who make up Tyler’s motley crew are a lot of fun; most notably Brandon Perea and Sasha Lane.

Twisters might not be groundbreaking cinema, but it provides two hours of brainless entertainment with some humor, thrills, decent special effects, and a bit of nostalgia. Technically a sequel, it stands out as one of the few movies this summer that can be enjoyed without any prerequisite viewing.