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28 years ago, in 1996, Twister hit theaters in the US. Following a ragtag team of tornado chasers led by the late Bill Paxton, the film became a big hit mostly on the strength of its action setpieces and special effects, but most definitely not because of its character development or dialogue. This popularity still led to a huge following, and even a Universal Studios ride (an incredibly dull one!) so it's surprising that it took this long for a sequel to come up.
Set in the same universe but barely referencing the original, Twisters follows Oklahoma native Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a young tornado chaser and aspiring meteorologist with "a gift" to predict storms and tornadoes. When tragedy strikes her team during an intense tornado, she relocates to New York City to work for NOAA. That is until her friend and former colleague Javi (Anthony Ramos) lures her back to her hometown to help him with his new storm chasing company.
Overall, Twisters does what most sequels do; go bigger, as the title implies. This doesn't always equate to quality, but that doesn't mean that the film is not without its strengths. First of all, I found it interesting how the film puts our hero into what is essentially Cary Elwes team in the original. Javi is definitely not a bad guy, but his company follows the stereotypical "evil corporate" trope full of nameless/faceless drones. All while they look down at Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) ragtag team of colorful tornado chasers, which is pretty much a proxy of Helen Hunt's team.
There is some hints of nuance to Kate's trauma and the story does try to get something from it, but in the end, it mostly brushes them aside with one-liners like the one quoted above. Her predictable shift from one team to the other is even blatantly highlighted with an obvious change of wardrobe, while the film decides to fall back on action setpieces and special effects. In that regards, the film does bring the thrills; but as someone who isn't even a big fan of the original, there's not a lot to ride here.
Grade:
TWISTERS
(2024, Chung)
(2024, Chung)
"You don't face your fears, you ride 'em."
28 years ago, in 1996, Twister hit theaters in the US. Following a ragtag team of tornado chasers led by the late Bill Paxton, the film became a big hit mostly on the strength of its action setpieces and special effects, but most definitely not because of its character development or dialogue. This popularity still led to a huge following, and even a Universal Studios ride (an incredibly dull one!) so it's surprising that it took this long for a sequel to come up.
Set in the same universe but barely referencing the original, Twisters follows Oklahoma native Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a young tornado chaser and aspiring meteorologist with "a gift" to predict storms and tornadoes. When tragedy strikes her team during an intense tornado, she relocates to New York City to work for NOAA. That is until her friend and former colleague Javi (Anthony Ramos) lures her back to her hometown to help him with his new storm chasing company.
Overall, Twisters does what most sequels do; go bigger, as the title implies. This doesn't always equate to quality, but that doesn't mean that the film is not without its strengths. First of all, I found it interesting how the film puts our hero into what is essentially Cary Elwes team in the original. Javi is definitely not a bad guy, but his company follows the stereotypical "evil corporate" trope full of nameless/faceless drones. All while they look down at Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) ragtag team of colorful tornado chasers, which is pretty much a proxy of Helen Hunt's team.
There is some hints of nuance to Kate's trauma and the story does try to get something from it, but in the end, it mostly brushes them aside with one-liners like the one quoted above. Her predictable shift from one team to the other is even blatantly highlighted with an obvious change of wardrobe, while the film decides to fall back on action setpieces and special effects. In that regards, the film does bring the thrills; but as someone who isn't even a big fan of the original, there's not a lot to ride here.
Grade: