There’s little room for a sequel of a natural disaster blockbuster like Twister. And yet, Twisters achieves the impossible as director Lee Isaac Chung with a screenplay by Mark L. Smith from a story by Joseph Kosinski. The follow-up functions like a typical summer blockbuster. It may lack character development and originality and is far more predictable, but it moves like a storm with its cinematic conflict of man vs nature, surprisingly romantic chemistry from Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell, the understanding of the modern-day world when it comes to climate and technology, and Chung’s extraordinary efforts to portray America’s heartland with profound respect.
“Twisters” is a standalone sequel that connects to the original but doesn’t overlap with the existing characters. As such, it can focus on a fresh batch of storm chasers who have their own reasons for preventing tornados from tearing down Oklahoma. The film opens with Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones), an ambitious meteorologist who has developed a method to release barrels of sodium polyacrylate to bring down a tornado before it can destroy a city that lies in the path of a tornado ally. Along with her boyfriend Jeb (Daryl McCormack), and teammates Javi (Anthony Ramos), Addy (Kiernan Shipka), and Praveen (Nik Dodani), the young idealistic group chases tornados in hopes that they can prove their theory correct. As luck would have it, they find the perfect tornado, but they cannot predict its strength or whether it will get stronger. This devastating encounter leads to the death of three of Kate’s teammates.
Five years later, Kate is now an office drone working at the National Weather Service. Though she is there to read weather patterns and track movements, it’s nowhere near as thrilling as what she did years ago. When Javi pays a visit, he offers her the opportunity to test a groundbreaking new tracking system that would create 3D models of tornadoes. Haunted by the past, Kate is reluctant to take the job. Eventually, seeing how Javi’s technology could help people, she joins him on his mission to research tornados.
A shady investor is funding Kate, Javi, and their new team’s research. Kate doesn’t question it at first because of her friendship with Javi. However, Javi wants to continue where they left off, and the only person who would fund his research is a real estate investor who intends to profit from the people’s tragedy.
All convene in Oklahoma to strategize capturing tornado data. It’s not exactly a warm welcome for Kate. Fellow sleazy scientist Scott (David Corenswet) gives her the cold shoulder and constantly questions her methods. The group also crosses paths with Tyler Owens, a charming but reckless social-media superstar, and self-professed storm wrangler who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures with his fellow hooting and hollering cowboys. It’s a frigid dynamic between the two groups.
As the storms intensify, Kate starts to see that there is more to Tyler than his clout-chasing persona. She discovers that there is more in common with their goals to chase storms and help the people who live on the path of Tornado Alley.
What Twisters lacks in originality and creativity makes up for with its human dynamics and understanding that a standalone sequel about humans vs. natural disasters is more than that. Because the standalone sequel only offers a little narrative maneuverability, many character arcs and story trajectories feel familiar, if not predictable. There are hardly any new twists. Yet, Smith’s script tries to take advantage of the new time and landscape we live in now. Climate change has changed the way we live and respond to these dangerous storms and the role social media plays in how people respond to natural disasters.
And yet, Smith’s script could have done better when modernizing the story. It all follows a predictable path and uses the tornados to bring Kate and Tyler’s characters together. Each storm represents different points within the arc to develop their dynamics. If one harmless tornado was a soft introduction for the two, the intensifying storms would change the temperature. A twister destroying an oil refinery only brings more heat to the relationship – so to speak. The climatic tornado gives a justifiable reason for the two to be together, and it isn’t just to survive but to spotlight their commonplace to use their research to protect the people.
Kate and Tyler’s dynamic is cheesy; it works because Edgar-Jones and Powell can easily banter back and forth. They press each other’s buttons but also wildly underestimate each other because of their first impressions. Of course, the more the two run into each other’s paths, the more heated exchanges become flirtatious bantering. Though their approaches are polarizing, their personalities complement each other well. And they will put each other in harm’s way to help those find shelter from the storm – or lack of it.
But Edgar-Jones’s Kate serves as the beating heart of “Twisters.” Kate starts as an earnest and compassionate storm chaser but becomes an office drone stricken with survivor’s guilt. No one can blame her for such a turn, considering how her ambitions cost the lives of her dear friends. Meanwhile, Javi uses his survivor’s guilt to continue the research Kate left and finds someone whom he believes he can trust to fund it. Seeing these sorts of vulnerabilities and decisions made only helps the audience connect to these characters, thin as it may seem. However, that survivor’s guilt helps build the personal stakes, as Kate survived to finish what she started.
Despite its flaws, “Twisters” is an opportunity for Chung to paint a more cinematic picture of America’s heartland when compared to his directorial debut in “Minari.” That connection is revealed through the wheat and grass fields waving in a gentle breeze before the storm and how red clay dirt kicks up as Tyler’s truck drills into the earth so it can remain anchored during an active tornado. Let’s not forget the human impact
as camera give us beautiful shots of towering windmills that touch the beautiful blue sky. Cinematographer Dan Mindel’s camera work captures the spirit of Oklahoma with these wide shots that give audiences a sense of the size and scale of the small towns and the destructiveness of the tornados. Although close-up shots, the scientists and wranglers trying to outrun the CGI storm make some of the sequences feel artificial.
“Twisters” is more fun than you expect it to be as it prioritizes a character-driven story over CG destruction. The spectacle of the destruction is there sure, and is placed in all of the usual places within the story arc. Still, there is something empowering to see when watching a human drama unfold as a tornado storms through small towns and forces a community to come together in solidarity. It makes for an entertaining popcorn flick that inspires us to help when tragedy strikes.
8.5/10
