Twisters - A Movie Review

Original date - 7/26

This past Tuesday I ventured over to my local Marcus Theaters to see the summer's hottest (in terms of popularity and the cast’s looks ) movie Twisters.  A spiritual sequel to 1996's Twister, this is a re-imagining with nods to the predecessor rather than a re-make. I watched Twister in preparation and actually wasn't a huge fan -- it had some good moments and was naturally enticing but I didn't think it was awesome -- but this didn't derail my excitement and Twisters lived up to the hype for me.  (Let's hope Deadpool and Wolverine can continue the trend tonight when I see it.)  Far from perfect, this film surpasses its predecessor easily for me, upping the stakes, action, and most prominently improving the visuals making you more enthralled.  A great cast and great execution, this is one I couldn't recommend more highly.

Synopsis

Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) works in New York City for the NOAA five years after a traumatic storm-chasing experience in her home state of Oklahoma.  She's roped in by her friend and former colleague Javi (Anthony Ramos) to join his team using military-grade tech for tracking and evaluating storms to help better predict and disarm them.  She returns home for a week as Oklahoma is being ravaged by tornadoes at record-highs in hopes of finding a way to keep these smalltown citizens safer. On arrival they meet Tyler (Glen Powell) and his team of YouTube Tornado Wranglers out of Arkansas (a great cast of characters in that bunch) who seem more interested in the spectacle of the storms and selling T-shirts.  The two storm-chasing groups wind up running down these twisters in unison, and as they see the devastation being caused in the wake of the storms, end up fighting back. 

Cast

• Kate Carter -- Daisy Edgar-Jones

• Tyler Owens -- Glen Powell

• Javi -- Anthony Ramos

• Boone -- Brandon Perea

• Lily -- Sasha Lane

• Scott -- David Corenswet

• Dani -- Katy O'Brian

• Jeb -- Daryl McCormack

• Cathy -- Maura Tierney

• Ben -- Harry Hadden-Paton

If you're thinking to yourself, "I don't know any of those people outside DEJ and Glen," you're not alone! But there's a lot to love about this cast and they're more recognizable when you see them than by their names.  And the two leads are good enough to carry what's needed from an acting standpoint for largely a spectacle movie such as this.

Glen Powell steals the show for me (shocker I know).  Was pretty much born to play the storm-chasing country cool guy and it's a fun wrinkle that he's a YouTuber in this.  He's also a very smart dude we come to find out which he plays capably.  And if I've said it once I've said it a thousand times, he has unreal chemistry with his female co-stars and that's the case once again in this one.

The true lead -- Daisy Edgar-Jones -- was great as well.  Her character goes through a lot of trauma, is extremely smart with instincts about storms that are basically a superpower, and is very concerned for the safety of the people that live in these small, destroyed towns: all of which she plays very well.  We see a lot of the best/biggest moments of the film through her eyes and I really don't have any complaints regarding her performance.

Anthony Ramos (Hamilton, In The Heights, Dumb Money) is a good supporting character. He was there from the beginning and saw the same things Kate did, so his character also has a unique perspective to storms. He also drives a ton of the plot with his storm-chasing business and has a good character arc.

Brandon Perea (Nope) was fun as Tyler's right-hand man, lots of funny moments and made scenes exciting.  Sasha Lane (The Crowded Room) and Katy O'Brien (Love Lies Bleeding, The Mandalorian)  were both good in the same vein. I had only seen David Corenswet in We Own This City but now know he's going to be the next Superman for James Gunn. He was far from Clark Kent in this movie -- But he played a great douchebag, I liked the element his character brought.  Maura Tierney (The Iron Claw, Liar Liar) was also good in the mom role and made me laugh a couple times.

Spoiler-Free Review

My biggest and most important takeaway is that this is hands-down the blockbuster of the summer and is well-worth a trip to the theater (Deadpool-pending but almost don't even consider that).  Just from a spectacle standpoint it's epic, seeing the technology and CGI capabilities improvement from the 1996 film alone makes it a better viewing-experience.  It definitely surpasses its predecessor in my eyes.  It's got loads and loads of action and thrilling moments from start to finish.  I think there are some slow-ish sections of the movie that I personally could do without, but it doesn't make the movie feel like it's dragging at all.  As previously mentioned, the two leads have great chemistry and give great performances. The main side characters contribute well, the lesser side characters play their role and don't distract from the main course.  I think there were higher highs they could've hit and moments that they could've really capitalized on in terms of pay-off and satisfaction, but they did a really good job execution-wise scaring/thrilling the audience and establishing real stakes.  It's not a ground-breaking, revolutionary cinematic experience, but it's a fun-as-hell trip to the movies.

Spoiler Recap

General format of this is going to be basically going from beginning to end of the movie with what happens, good quotes/specific moments, and thoughts on each Act as we go.  But echoing the above, I liked this movie a lot and think there were just small examples of things I'd change/want to happen differently.

The movie opens with Kate, Javi, and their 3 classmates/colleagues (Jeb - Kate's boyfriend, Addy, and Praveen), who are all working on a project together that will hopefully net them a grant.  They're trying to find ways to disable/lessen the impact of tornadoes.  Kate tracks down a storm and the group takes off for it, Javi collecting data through a "Dorothy Doppler" like in the 1996 film,  and the other four going into the storm with barrels of their tornado-busting sodium polyacrylate solution. 

As they arrive at the twister, they unload their solution and drive off, Javi confirming they're capturing data back a ways. As they drive off the twister keeps getting closer -- becoming an EF5 Tornado, the most dangerous categorization.  They abandon the truck and seek shelter, but only Kate survives as the winds and debris claim the lives of Jeb, Addy, and Praveen.  Javi survives as well.

The film jumps forward 5 years to Kate at her new job in New York City at the NOAA agency helping track major storms.  Javi arrives to meet with her about joining him for a week back home in Oklahoma working for his company, Storm Par.  He used connections from the military to acquire some high-tech storm tracking mobile devices that will allow them to gather more intel than ever,  promising it will lead to better counteractive measures and improved safety.  She eventually agrees seeing reports of devastating tornadoes occurring in OK.

Arriving back home, Kate meets the rest of the Storm Par crew as they meet up to track a storm.  Other storm-chasing crews arrive, but Tyler Owens and his "Tornado Wranglers" crew show up and steal the show.  Kate looks on as the YouTube posse arrives to cheering crowds but remains focused.  She walks out into the field to get a feel for the weather, and she's approached by Tyler (who calls her City Girl and asks where she thinks the storm's coming from).  She tries to throw Tyler off the scent, telling him the West is the best choice but telling her own team to go East.

Storm Par hits the road in pursuit.  As they approach, Kate and Javi are nearly knocked off the road by Tyler and Boone in their Red Tornado-Tracking Truck flying into frame.  They jam out and vlog their way into the storm as Storm Par begins fanning out to set-up their scanners.  They're able to get 2 scanners in place, but a traumatic episode sends Kate spiraling and they are unable to place the third. Meanwhile, Tyler and co. are in the middle of the twister lighting it up with fireworks for their loyal subscribers. 

The next day the two factions regroup to try and chase down another storm. This time around, Storm Par changes course mid approach and loses the Tornado Wranglers, who wind up going to TWIN twister, which dies out quickly Regrouped and confident, Kate is able to overcome her fear and get the third scanner in place this time. However, this is a significantly stronger storm, and their equipment gets sucked up into the twister and they lose the data. Kate and Javi are forced to wait out the storm in his truck, luckily avoiding injury.

They drive back through a small town that has been destroyed by the storm.  They stop to help and notice Tyler and his Team there as well, handing out food and water and helping people recover lost items.  Kate's shocked and impressed, realizing there's more to Tyler than she thought when she learns they use their merchandise sales to help those affected by tornadoes. It's also highlighted that Storm Par has an investor named Riggs who may be profiting on the damage of these storms.

That night Tyler invites Kate to the rodeo with him, thinking he was going to turn this City Girl onto something she's never seen before. Unbeknownst to him, Kate's been to the rodeo many times growing up in OK, and she gives him trouble for his assumption. Tyler reveals he was once a rodeo cowboy, but too many injuries made him drift away and led him to studying meteorology. 

At the Rodeo, dark clouds roll in (how many damn twisters can come through a place my word) and they call for evacuation.  Kate and Tyler seek shelter with a mother and her young daughter at a nearby motel, but they don't have a basement.  The group goes outside to the drained pool and Tyler leads everyone to the safest position, but this is another strong storm that pulls multiple civilians into the winds.  Kate, Tyler, and the mother/daughter make it through.

Javi arrives knowing Kate was there to make sure she's okay. Kate angrily confronts Javi about Riggs' involvement in Storm Par, and Javi lashes out at Kate blaming her for selfishly putting him, Jeb, Addy, and Praveen in that EF5 storm five years prior. 

Kate decides to return home to her mother's farm in Sapulpa, OK to clear her head.  She reminisces over her childhood room, old research and models, and thinks back to her time spent there with Jeb.  Tyler soon arrives and Kate's mother obliges him to stay for dinner.  Tyler uncovers Kate's research and, much to her dismay, looks over her old reports and numbers regarding tornado disruption.  He encourages her that she was so close and that he wants to help her further test the research, but she declines feeling the guilt of her friends dying and Javi's reminder of it.

Tyler convinces her to give it another shot, helping her realize she shouldn't let the past keep her from doing what she wants to do.  He reveals that he isn't as Macho as his Youtube persona and brazenness driving into storms would lead you to believe. Tornadoes do scare him just as being a rodeo cowboy did. "You don't face your fears - you ride em'."

Javi returns and apologizes for what he said to Kate.  Kate is accepting but asks Javi for their storm data, which he obliges (much to Scott's dismay, what a douchebag this guy is I love it). The data leads Kate to hypothesize a solution that wasn't accounted for originally (something about increasing moisture with rockets so the reaction kicks in better? Don't remember exactly) so she joins Tyler and his team in El Reno to test it.

The Storm Par team is also in El Reno -- seeing the full flip for Kate from working w/ them and looking down on tornado Wranglers to vice versa -- and the two factions once again take off after a storm.  Storm Par gets out there first, Scott and Javi nearly being flipped in their truck by the intensity of what becomes a fire tornado.  Scott tries to pressure Javi into staying on the chase, but he abandons and quits Storm Par.

Tyler, Kate and company arrive at the town seeing the growth and intensity of the tornado. They begin evacuating civilians and trying to get them to safety, leading them to a movie theater nearby.  Panic and chaos has fully set in at this point as the high winds begin knocking ceiling supports from the sky.  As Tyler gathers more people to the theater, he realizes he can't find Kate. Kate has run out to the truck and begun driving out to the tornado (as Tyler looks on in horror).  Realizing he can't stop or help her, he goes back to helping people find safety.

Kate takes the barrels of solution out into the storm.  She's able to get close enough and digs the drills into the ground for stability.  After a brief struggle she's able to fire the rockets and deploy the solution into the storm as the intense winds grow stronger, dragging the drills out of the ground and capsizing the truck. 

Back to the theater and hell has broken loose. The winds rip the movie theater screen (and the entire wall behind it I'd have to assume) and the wall is fully exposed to the outside world.  Winds grow stronger, pulling people hiding below into the storm. It picks up Lily and begins dragging her toward the opening, but Tyler is able to grab her and keeps her from flying away.

In the field, Kate lies in the overturned Truck. Finally the solution begins to kick in and the tornado starts to dissipate. The winds die out, the twister breaks, and Kate emerges from the truck unscathed (relatively, she's got some cuts but no serious injury.)

Everyone celebrates Kate's successful mission, thankful and excited about this new development that will hopefully help other towns avoid devastation from these types of storms. 

Kate is off to the airport after a FULL ASS WEEK of storm-chasing to head to New York.  Javi says goodbye to her at the airport, and Tyler arrives to send her off.  He mentions wanting her to stay in OK with him, but she says she needs to get back to New York (stealing his "If you feel it, chase it" slogan in the process).  She walks off, he goes after her (after a funny interaction with Andre from The League), and the airport PA announces that all flights are grounded. The two share a moment before heading back to his truck. (seriously no kiss? I never look forward to that/need it but it honestly felt weird not to have them kiss once).

Final Thoughts

 

All-in-all I have very few gripes and very broadly positive thoughts on this film. I thought it was action-packed, wildly entertaining, interesting, and relatively heart-warming in the end.  I think there were some slow moments back at the farm and just random introspective moments for Kate that went a little long, but she's the heart of the film so I see their vision.  I also think it was an airball not having that satisfying, tie-the-story-together kiss at the end (which feels so weird to complain about but legitimately made me wonder what was happening) but it doesn't take away from the good.  I also think visually, the tornadoes in this movie couldn't have looked better or more realistic.  The tech improvements are astounding and it makes the movie look so much better. I especially liked that they mixed up the timings of the tornadoes: could be a clear sunny morning, late night after the rodeo, rainy afternoon -- they put the tornadoes in different situations and times of days so it never got stale.  I really enjoyed this movie, especially Glen Powell's performance in the middle of it, and think it's a perfect example of why movies should be seen on the big screen.

Score

82/100