Review: ‘Twisters’ is an Epic Adventure of Egos, Ambition, and Deadly Weather

Having to traverse the state of Arkansas in the wake of a nearby tropical storm with the potential to cause tornadoes may not be the best preparation just one week before screening a disaster movie about those terrifying forces of nature. But even for those who have merely been enduring relatively calm weather and blistering heat, the opening scene of Twisters is forceful enough to pull anyone into the violent, entrancing world of tornado-chasing, even if no one in the audience would be bold – or arguably stupid – enough to consciously drive straight towards one.

Twisters, marketed as a standalone sequel to the popular 1996 blockbuster Twister starring the late Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, centers on Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones), whose ability to predict the formation and path of tornadoes wows everyone around her. After an early attempt to tame a shockingly powerful tornado has deadly consequences, Kate is safely operating from a control room in New York City until her old friend Javi (Anthony Ramos) shows up with the news that he now has funding to make their barebones college dreams an advanced technical reality.

While Kate and Javi are set on changing the world for good by putting themselves in danger, determined to figure out how to neutralize tornadoes as soon as they form so that they can no longer hurt so many innocent people, another figure looms large and loud. As soon as Kate arrives in Oklahoma to meet Javi’s team, she can’t miss Tyler Owens (Glen Powell), a rock star YouTuber who prides himself on driving his truck right into tornadoes, anchoring it to the ground, and shooting rockets and fireworks up into it so that his fans can revel in the excitement. His showboating stands in stark contrast to Kate’s do-gooder nature, though, as is always the case, there’s more than meets the eye to this self-involved and impossibly charming daredevil.

Twisters features no shortage of carnage, offering only a few short sequences of tranquility before another storm begins to swirl and threaten the hapless residents of much of Oklahoma. This film doesn’t afford much intelligence or scrappiness to those everyday people, who theoretically might be better trained to know what to do given their location in Tornado Alley and the relative frequency of severe weather. Instead, Kate and both Javi and Tyler’s teams must rush in to stop them from attempting to brave the storm or get into a car, frantically ushering them towards more reliable shelter.

There is a great deal of science packed into this story, though whether it’s anywhere close to sound is almost irrelevant to the effectiveness of the film. Kate is clearly brilliant but is also traumatized by what she’s been through, and Tyler, along with his entire team, brings much more knowledge and research to his game than many real-life Twitter- and TikTok-educated so-called experts. Man is surely no match for mother nature, but these characters feel like the best chance humanity has to combat the unpredictable forces of weather that are capable of wreaking untold havoc on a defenseless population.

Both of this film’s stars are undeniably on the rise, and this showcase only serves to further propel them to widespread success. Edgar-Jones got her start in the much quieter limited series Normal People and delivered a similarly somber and compelling performance in Under the Banner of Heaven, and it’s enticing to see her transition to lead this big-budget thriller. Powell, a veteran of Top Gun: Maverick and Devotion, recently brought his comedy chops to Anyone But You and Hit Man, and his effortless charisma continues to serve him well. Edgar-Jones and Powell are particularly fun together, enjoying a humorous banter that subtly transforms into an effective and stirring partnership.

While the film’s script is far from its best asset since any conversation pales in comparison to its visuals, its supporting cast is smartly assembled. The only drawback is that some, like Daryl McCormack, Kiernan Shipka, and Nik Dodani, are barely used, while Brandon Perea, Sasha Lane, Tunde Adebimpe, Katy O’Brian, and Harry Hadden-Paton are effective members of Tyler’s hard-working if opportunistic team. The only puzzling bit of casting is future Superman David Corenswet as a moody associate of Javi’s, which does little to show what he might do in the future as the Man of Steel.

Twisters, in the capable hands of Oscar-nominated Minari director Lee Isaac Chung, is forced to navigate the line between thrilling adventure and the deadliness of its natural disasters, balancing sensationalizing its events with some respect for the collateral damage incurred by minor characters being pulled up into the storm, never to be seen again. Strong visual effects help to drive home the formidability of this force, and the film rarely lets up throughout its runtime of just under two hours. It frequently tests the limits of believability but knows what it wants to be, focusing most on fighting the elements with a healthy supporting serving of fighting among its human characters.

Movie Rating: 7/10

Awards Buzz: The first film scored Oscar nominations for Best Sound and Best Visual Effects. It’s likely this sequel could earn similar mentions, but it’s unlikely to show up in any other categories outside of groups like the MTV Movie Awards.