Tornadoes have been a subject of film fascination since The Wizard of Oz in 1939. However, Dutch filmmaker Jan de Bont helped to solidify the appeal of the cinematic cyclone with his 1996 summer blockbuster Twister, about a group of adrenaline junkie storm chasers.
A new instalment, Twisters, arrives 28 years after de Bont’s film, chasing away all those “Sharknados” that have cluttered up the tornado movie subgenre. It reminds us of what made Twister so appealing to begin with – it wasn’t necessarily the airborne fauna, but rather, the human dramas that play out as tornadoes roam across the landscape.
Minari director Lee Isaac Chung tackles Twisters, which finds an analogue in Aliens, and not just in its approach to sequel titling. Both Twisters and Aliens are bigger, beefier sequels to their ruthlessly efficient predecessors. Both are wildly entertaining, expanding on the world introduced in the first films without striving to replicate them.
The only cameo from a Twister star in Twisters comes in the form of “Dorothy,” the data collection device developed in the first film. Otherwise, these characters simply share the same passion for understanding these storms.
Chung and writers Joseph Kosinski and Mark L Smith tapped into the elements that made the first one so appealing, with a supporting cast packed with colourful characters while centring two leads with an undeniable chemistry that’s as stormy as the weather.
Our new heroine, Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) has shied away from storm chasing after enduring a devastating personal loss in the path of an F5 tornado during her college days. She runs from her guilt as far as she can, landing in New York City behind a desk at the National Weather Service.
But the past always comes calling, in the form of an old friend, Javi (Anthony Ramos) who convinces Kate to help him with a new project, Storm PAR. The project involves developing portable military-grade radar systems to create more accurate storm warnings for real estate developers seeking to build in tornado-ravaged areas.
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When they head to Oklahoma to measure storms during a tornado outbreak, the pair run into a crowd of amateur storm chasers and a swaggering social media star, Tyler Owens (Glen Powell). Owens performs stunts like driving his fortified truck directly into a tornado in order to shoot fireworks up the funnel, while streaming live to his followers. Naturally, he sells T-shirts emblazoned with his face and the phrase “not my first tornado”.
But Tyler’s signature catchphrase, “if you feel it, chase it,” is eerily akin to Kate’s own relationship with storms. If he is the wrangler, she seeks to be the tornado tamer, the intuitive. Kate doesn’t read radar, but dandelion fluff and the way wind ripples across wheat.
Despite their prickly interactions, Tyler and Kate are much more kindred spirits than she is with the Storm PAR team, a group of polo-shirted nerds, including grumpy number-cruncher Scott (David Corenswet). And when Powell directs his lightning crack gaze toward Edgar-Jones, it’s only a matter of time before these enemies become lovers, or team members, at least.
Chung’s Minari is an autobiographical tale about a Korean immigrant family setting down roots in Arkansas. He knows small-town middle America and the terror of tornado warnings. He takes care with place-setting, utilising contemporary country tunes and a winsome lens on good old Americana. If Kate and Tyler have a motivation to stop the storms, it’s to save the people in these towns and their way of life.
Twisters does chase down a few too many themes and storylines that don’t develop into anything worthwhile. Perhaps it’s just the gravitational pull of Powell’s outsized charisma, but the film is at its best when it’s centred on him and his merry band of content creators.
But bright, shiny amusement needs to be anchored to the ground too, and Chung’s focus on Kate’s arc and Edgar-Jones’ quietly powerful performance offer a surprisingly emotional undergirding to this entertaining popcorn flick. The gut-wrenching opening sequence is shockingly moving.
Even if Chung does leave us wanting just a little bit more romance, with Twisters he delivers a supremely entertaining summer blockbuster, with an emotional and thematic heft that makes it even better than expected, and potentially even better than the first.
