ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Like many people, I was tuned into Twitter on Super Bowl Sunday to keep up with the game and during that time, there were many movie teasers and trailers also shared, with some that REALLY excited me, and some that ... didn’t.
One of the trailers that got shared was the trailer for “Twisters,” a sequel to the 1996 movie “Twister.” I freely admit one of the first thoughts I had after seeing/hearing there would be a sequel was “Okay, the first movie was cool, but were there really THAT many people clamoring for a sequel? And almost 30 years later?” Well, last Friday, I ended up taking myself to the movies to see just what the fuss would be about, and I ended up being rather pleasantly surprised.
“Twisters” follows retired tornado-chaser and meteorologist Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones) as she is persuaded to return to Oklahoma to work with a new team and new technologies after leaving the field due to a traumatic tornado encounter five years earlier.
The movie awards season might be over, but if there’s one award nomination this movie absolutely deserves, it would be for sound, because the sound department on this movie went HARD. “Twisters” is pure ear candy and there are multiple moments where you almost feel like you’re being swept up in the storm on the screen, beginning with the opening scenes that feature Kate and her original science team alone. This is definitely a movie you want to see either in the theater or with a state-of-the-art surround sound system, because just watching it on a regular TV won’t do it the justice it deserves. Overall, however much the sound team on this movie was paid, I don’t think it was anywhere near enough.
In addition to the sound, I have to also give some high praise to the special effects department for doing a good job on making everything look so scary. I actually found the original movie a little while ago on Netflix, which STILL holds up after all this time, and I felt the sequel did a good job maintaining that quality. And as someone who’s lived in Tornado Alley her whole life, I also appreciated how there was an emphasis placed on just how quickly such storms can form and how devastating the aftermath can ultimately be. Again, props to the effects team for its great work.
I also thought the cast did a good job throughout the movie. Daisy Edgar-Jones does a good job as the leading lady and gives a solid performance, and she gives Kate some edges and vulnerability throughout the movie. Glen Powell also does a good job as leading man/tornado wrangler Tyler Owens, giving him just enough arrogance to provoke some minor eye rolling but not so much that the character is a complete caricature, and it was great seeing a little complexity written into the character. The rest of the cast also does a good job and brings some heart and heft and humor as the movie goes on, making the movie enjoyable. Overall, the casting people made the right choices with the actors they chose.
While the cast did a good job, however, I felt like the characters themselves could have been given just a little more depth. We see Kate experience trauma in the opening scenes of the movie, but we never really see her deal with the emotional/psychological aftermath of what happened to her (i.e. her very obvious PTSD), and I feel like there was maybe a slight missed opportunity in that regard. Tyler also has moments where he shows he’s not just a redneck storm chaser but has some actual meteorological knowledge, and again, I feel like that wasn’t really delved into as much as it could have been. I also felt at times, there were too many people to keep track of – a minor quibble, but still something I noticed. Overall, while the cast did a good job, the characters themselves, to me, felt a little flat and definitely could have used more development.
In that spirit, I also felt the overall writing could have been improved upon, because there are multiple moments where the dialogue is almost laughably bad and felt like the writers’ goal was more along the lines of “Let’s see how cool we can sound” instead of thinking about how people actually talk in real life. The pacing throughout the movie also lagged somewhat at times, and there were a few parts where the story could have moved a little more quickly. Like the characterizations of everyone in the movie, the writing and screenplay definitely could have used some punching up.
Another cool thing about “Twisters” is how it’s its own standalone film and doesn’t require any knowledge about the 1996 original in order for it to be enjoyed. I know there will probably be people comparing the two and wondering why there’s not really any connection, but I actually enjoyed the fact that “Twisters” is its own standalone story because that gives the movie the chance to really be its own entity.
Overall, I enjoyed my viewing of “Twisters” at the movies last Friday and would give it a solid “B” grade. Despite my initial misgivings, the movie’s a fun summer blockbuster that deserves to be seen in the theaters in order to really take in the aural and visual elements the movie offers, which are amazing. The cast does a good job, particularly Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell in the lead roles, though I do feel like the movie’s characters could have used some more depth, as well as the overall writing/screenplay. If you’re a fan of disaster movies or the original “Twister” film, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy “Twisters.”
