Shortly after seeing, and enjoying, the 1996 movie Twister, I noticed something on a colleague’s desk that made me laugh out loud: a copy of the published screenplay. If there were ever a film that made me want to read its script less than this, I couldn’t name it.
Like its predecessor, Twisters does something only a movie can do, by giving us a vicarious experience that feels exciting and real while it’s happening, and easily forgettable as soon as it’s over. Although it is directed by Lee Isaac Chung, best known for his exceptional indie sleeper Minari (2020) there is nothing to set this white-knuckle disaster movie apart from the 1996 film or other popcorn movies in this genre. The characters are painted in broad strokes, at least when we first meet them, and are only fleshed out as the story nears its climax.
The reason to see Twisters is to feel the same emotions one enjoys on a roller coaster ride. Its visual effects are vivid and spectacular, and as in most Hollywood films of this kind, there is some catharsis in watching ordinary people behave in extraordinary ways when disaster strikes.
Daisy Edgar-Jones is good as a science whiz who’s part of a team of storm-chasers. After a life-altering incident she retreats from the front lines until an old friend lures her back to Oklahoma with the promise of new technology that will help reveal more information about what makes tornadoes tick… and potentially, how to tame them.
When she returns to her home turf she finds herself part of a circus of tornado geeks, including a cocksure, self-promoting media star (Glen Powell). He profits from exploiting the cloud funnels that wreak such havoc on ordinary people and this she can’t abide. Naturally, there’s more to him than meets the eye, and therein lies the “human story” that just barely holds the film together.
But the draw here isn’t depth of character; it’s the twisters, folks, and we get plenty of them, using cutting-edge visual effects and sound design. It’s no accident that Steven Spielberg is one of the movie’s executive producers. He’s always known what audiences want to see—especially in the summertime—and Twisters delivers the goods.
