Twisters review – An enjoyable blowback popcorn flick

The popularity of big disaster action movies has waxed and waned over the years, but there was something special about that time in the Nineties where nature’s fury took over cinemas. Remember Dante’s Peak, Volcano, Deep Impact and, of course, the original Twister? As a standalone, somewhat sequel to the 1996 genre classic, Twisters sets out to reach those same dizzying heights. And, for all its flaws, it achieves that goal. 

In Twisters, Daisy Edgar-Jones plays Katie, a meteorologist with a sixth sense about weather behaviour. However, after a devastating twister rips her life and experiments to shreds, she gives up storm chasing and takes up a cushy desk job far away from Tornado Alley. Of course, Katie can’t stay away forever, and five years later she’s lured back to Oklahoma by her friend Javi (Anthony Ramos), who promises his new tornado modelling technology is going to make a real, life-saving difference – especially to the wholesome, cowboy hat-wearing farming communities of the American Midwest. 

In half a decade, the scene has changed, and is now dominated by casual thrillseekers, the most prominent being the charming but reckless YouTube star Tyler Owens (Glen Powell). Kate and Tyler butt heads immediately as the teams face each other down and fight over the tornadoes, one for scientific research and one for social media clout. Of course, not all is as it seems with either group, but that drama is mostly an excuse to drive the characters from one exhilarating storm chase sequence to the next, and do things like shoot fireworks directly into a tornado for the hell of it. 

Despite the paper thin “science” that you really shouldn’t think about for too long, the plot of Twisters is decently coherent and blessedly lacking in characters that make stupid decisions just so the film can place them in danger. Everyone has clear motivations and sticks to them, while respecting the power of the tornados. If they’re up close to a twister, there’s a very good reason for that.

Speaking of, one of the biggest surprises is that Twisters has fully developed and likeable characters. Having a strong cast certainly helps (look out for future Superman David Corenswet, and Love Lies Bleeding and Star Wars alumnus Katy O’Brian). This is especially true for the leads, with Powell especially dialling his cocky, good ol’ Southern Boy charm to eleven and the spirited but more cerebral Edgar-Jones matching his energy with some to spare. Their pairing harks back to the golden days of disaster films, where destructive events form a backdrop to a human story, as opposed to the characters being moved around like stiff action figures between big action set pieces.

That may have something to do with the unusual choice of Lee Isaac Chung as the film’s director, given he was responsible for Oscar-nominated coming-of-age drama Minari, which was very much people centric. Chung may also be the reason that Twisters sometimes pulls back, surprisingly, on the reins, when it comes to certain sequences. Like the tornados themselves, instead of achieving maximum strength, they peter out or head in a less destructive direction.

On that (storm)front, the visual effects do not disappoint. This is peak Hollywood blockbuster territory, and the terrifying realism of the storms depicted is truly thrilling. Yes, it might be popcorn flick mentality to have a tornado roll over an oil refinery and cause a massive firestorm, but that doesn’t make it any less awe-inspiring to witness. Similarly, the idea of racing up to a tornado to kill it with moisture absorbing polymers is kind of dumb, but you’ll probably find yourself rooting for it to work. 

Plainly put, Twisters doesn’t escape the silliness of its genre, but that doesn’t stop you from having a really good time. There’s enough engaging human drama to keep you going in between big, flashy action sequences, and even the requisite cliched banter is elevated by the chemistry of leads who successfully straddle the line between science smarts and selfless figures of action. We missed these kinds of movie heroes. And these kinds of movies.

Twisters is in cinemas as of 12 July. It’s also showing in sensorial 4DX or DBOX. If you have the stomach for being intermittently blasted with fans and thrown around, Twisters is arguably the best, most immersive movie to pair with this niche experience for thrill seekers.