Twisters Defies Expectations As The Kind Of Sequel We Need More Often
I was not prepared for how much I enjoyed Twisters, which is in theaters now. Still, I had to go see it, and I’m so glad I did. Now, I’m hoping to encourage everyone who reads this to go support it while it’s still in the cinema.
It’s Not Like The Original, And It’s Not Trying To Be
I watched the original Twister several times when it came out. Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, even a young Philip Seymour Hoffman … how could you beat that? I even cued it up on streaming to watch with my kids for the first time recently when I saw there was a remake out.
I snidely remarked that Twisters could never live up to the original, and forgot all about it until tickets went on sale last week.
Well, I’m here to eat my words.
Twisters Occupies The Same World But Does Its Own Thing
Of course Twisters doesn’t outdo or outperform the original Twister in any way. After all, you can’t beat a master 90s disaster movie. But it does do it justice. And it’s not a remake.
It’s a sequel and soft reboot.
While the first film, written by Michael Crichton, is about storm chasers looking to capture data on tornadoes and in competition with another, slicker team, this film takes the plot line forward. The darling Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Kate Carter, a PhD candidate working with her team of friends to try to infiltrate and dispel tornadoes using a chemical mixture she’s designed.
Kate And Her Crew
In the beginning of Twisters, we meet Kate and her team on a storm chase in her home state of Oklahoma, and she tragically loses three of her four friends, including her handsome and loving boyfriend. She is the only one left aside from a fellow weather scientist, Javi (Anthony Ramos), who stayed behind to gather data. Fast forward five years, and Kate has moved to New York, stopped chasing storms, and is now an expert consultant for a weather channel.
Javi comes to recruit her to his new company, Storm Par, back home, to, as he says, “save lives.”
The Tornado Wranglers Add Fun To The Premise
Kate reluctantly agrees as she has always been interested in helping people. The twist in Twisters is that Kate is now part of the slick, polo wearing, smartly scientific team, and the scruffy, scrappy rival team of tornado “wranglers” is led by a cowboy from Arkansas, Tyler (Glen Powell). Tyler’s team is wacky but smart, and they’re leading tourists on wild tornado chases while live streaming on YouTube as Tyler drives right into tornadoes and shoots off fireworks.
Motives Are Called Into Question
Kate sees Tyler as nothing but an egomaniac and ignores him at first, but Tyler is intrigued by Kate from the beginning. We soon find that these two storm chasers have more in common than they do differences, and that Javi and his investors’ interests may not be entirely wholesome. Figuring it all out is part of what makes Twisters great.
A Surprisingly Effective Sequel
GFR SCORE
The chemistry between Powell and Jones is electric from their first scene together, and I say that as someone who has not always been a Glen Powell fan. The dialogue is snappy and smart. The cinematography makes you fall in love with Oklahoma, and the special effects feel just real enough to have you worrying a tornado might be tearing through your theater.
Twisters is a perfect example of how all blockbusters should be made and how all sequels to 90s and earlier films should pay homage to their predecessors.
I encourage you to run to the theater and catch Twisters on the big screen while you still can. Grab some popcorn, candy, and your sense of adventure, and don’t forget to buckle your harness.
