Rating: ««
out of ««««
Running Time: 122 minutes
This feature film from Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. opens exclusively at theaters on July 19.
It can sometimes take a while for a hit movie to result in a sequel, but few would have expected the 28-year span between the original summer blockbuster Twister and its unanticipated follow-up. Truth be told, Twisters isn’t really a true continuation of the story. Yes, there are “storm chasers” in it, various tornados causing massive destruction, as well as a few subtle references to the original film. However, that’s about where the similarities end.
The story introduces Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a college student who has the gift of being able to predict the path of tornadoes. Kate also believes she may be close to discovering a way to stop twisters from ravaging her home state of Oklahoma. But after a horrific tragedy, the traumatized lead relocates to New York for five years. Out of the blue, old acquaintance Javi (Anthony Ramos) arrives and asks her to help with a new research project he claims will help collect important data on twisters. The protagonist agrees, but finds her new team competing with YouTube sensation Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) and his group of storm enthusiasts. She and Tyler initially butt heads, but as a series of violent storms rock the state, the pair are put into close contact and must team up to accomplish their goals.
Obviously, a summer tentpole release like this does feature plenty of elaborate tornados that are created using the latest special effects. They are well-realized, with the camera often staying fairly low to the ground in order to emphasize the enormity of these natural phenomena. The film is at its most compelling when these storms are raging and large pieces of machinery and/or major structures are thrust into the air and crash to the ground. They’re reasonably effective, but there is nothing on display here as memorable as its predecessor (which featured its two leads silently watching a cow fly through the air, as well as driving a truck through an entire multi-story house that falls in front of them).
The arrogant but ultimately well-intentioned Tyler character is amusing to watch, and there are a few seemingly off-handed comments between him and Kate that do land when they are getting to know each other. But while some onscreen chemistry is present, as written, there are several issues with the protagonist. Kate should clearly be suffering from trauma and terror from past events, but it only surfaces briefly in a couple of short instances. In fact, the movie suggests that all she really needs is a good talking to from family and friends about facing her fears before the problem is evidently solved.
As for the supporting characters, they fare even worse. Yes, there are some amusing observations as the two teams hurtle and race toward storms in their vehicles, but the majority of humor falls flat. The competition doesn’t even make much sense as they appear to have different motivations and purposes behind their work. And when they’re interacting in person, they come across as one-note and, at times, even preposterous.
This especially hurts the picture when it attempts to inject intrigue into events. It’s delivered in such an obvious manner, every viewer will know the true motives of the characters long before they should.
And the finale is especially silly as it introduces a relatively simple answer to solving a major meteorological issue. Perhaps if the characters were all a little more well-drawn and believable it might have worked, but here it’s all a bit much and comes across as campy.
Admittedly, the original 1996 feature was no classic, but it did feature a few special moments. There are some good visual effects in Twisters, but the scenarios presented aren’t as noteworthy, the character interactions are only occasionally engaging, and one never feels like they are truly caught in the middle of a terrifying tornado. After nearly three decades, it might have been wise for the studio to wait even longer before bringing this follow-up to cinemas.
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By Glenn Kay
For the Sun
