TWISTERS, US, 2024. Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos. Directed by Isaac Lee Chung. 117 minutes. Rated M (Sense of peril).
By a happy twist of fate, Twisters is an entertaining crowd-pleaser. Anyone who buys a ticket, keen to see tornadoes in action as well as the human efforts to chase and combat them, will find a multitude of twisters here. The special effects of the tornadoes themselves, the visuals of their destructive force, the ruins and aftermath, are spectacular. And the editing keeps the action running at a very brisk pace, often edge-of-the-seat adrenaline pumping.
In 1996, the original Twister was holiday entertainment, with two experts, despite divorce proceedings, working together to chase the tornadoes. The director of that film, Jan de Bont, had not heard that there was to be this kind of sequel, making a comment that a sequel could only succeed if the tornadoes were bigger. The filmmakers this time have absolutely taken notice of that observation, not only are they bigger, there are many more of them.
But, the screenplay here emphasises the science – whether the audience understands the details of it or not. In fact, the film opens with a young enthusiast, Kate (Edgar-Jones), leading a team that hopes to release chemicals into the eye of the twister to dissipate its force. There are some scientific explanations. But the experiment is a tragic failure resulting in the deaths of several of the participants.
Then five years later. One of Kate’s former colleagues, Javi (Ramos) enlists her help with his experiments, placing tracking machines around the tornado in order to get a three-dimensional reading. Again, scientific explanations. By contrast, there is Tyler (a grinning Powell more gung-ho), a so-called tornado wrangler, with his raucous crew filming his exploits, taking tornado tourists out to witness the phenomena, and a British journalist joining in.
Obviously, there is going to be rivalry. And there is. However, there are some jaw-dropping sequences of the tornadoes and their force, extraordinary destruction and ruin with the challenge to Kate and Tyler and Javi as to whether they pursue their research or go to help people in distress. (In the background there are themes of corporate exploitation of those whose homes of livelihoods have been destroyed.)
In fact, Kate retires from the chasing and goes home, her mother urging her to do more research, Tyler tracking her down and collaborating. Already magazine articles are being headed ‘whirlwind romance’! At first it is a battle of the sexes, but strong on equality between men and women, and then scientific collaboration. There are some sequences during the final credits when audiences are stampeding for the exits, which actually show further plot developments.
Twisters sets out to be an action-disaster holiday entertainment. It succeeds well.
Warner Bros
Released 11 July