I can hear the groans already. Why make a sequel to Twister? It’s a Bill Paxton-Jan de Bont classic! Well, in the case of Twisters, this isn’t really a sequel at all. It’s not a remake either. Twisters is another story in the same twisted, violent saga of Mother Nature. It’s an undisclosed year around the one we live in, and Oklahoma is seeing one of the most dense and lengthy tornado seasons in recent memory. We follow Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones), who’s deeply wounded emotionally from a horrific experience five years ago where her and her best friends were trying to formulate a way to stop a tornado in its tracks. The idea looks like it’ll work and then the tornado roars out of control injuring her, and killing three of her friends.

Five years later, she’s left working for the NWS in New York when her friend Javy (Anthony Ramos) comes back with an offer to chase tornadoes to get incredible new data on them. This leads to the heart of Twisters. It’s all about Kate battling nature and that wound she’s left with. Along the way, we meet Javy’s team, which features scientists and tornado experts from across the spectrum, including one played by future Superman, David Corenswet. The other side of the tornado-chasing coin is Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) and his crew (Brandon Perea, Sasha Lane, Tunde Adebimpe, and Katy O’Brian). Owens is portrayed as basically what amounts to the Han Solo of storm chasing. He’s got what looks like a hunk of junk truck that has tons of gadgets, gimmicks, and other fantastical elements that get the job done.

The story at the heart of Twisters is Kate’s wound, and then what amounts to a somewhat platonic love triangle between Kate, Tyler, and Javy. Tyler is the all-American, country-strong, man’s man who films his bombastic storm chasing YouTube with a ragtag bunch of misfits and rejects from other walks of life. Javy, on the other hand, has the best possible technology, best scientists, tons of money at his disposal, and his cars even look like Stormtroopers to boot. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Javy is the antagonist of this story, though; as the story develops, he gets a fair bit of development, even more so than the other characters in the film.

Some of Twisters does get a bit bogged down in the scientific aspect. It’s funny to hear Glen Powell’s character spout off incredibly complex and intricate details about how tornadoes are formed, but at some points, it gets a bit dense. The best moments of all the scientific jargon come from Tyler’s crew when they ask for simplifications or even parrot what he’s saying in more layman’s terms to their YouTube audience. A lot of the charm of Twisters comes from that “battle” between the average joes and the scientifically advanced Storm Par people with Javy.

The other confounding thing about Twisters is that it just skips over that these massive tornado storms that go on for weeks aren’t caused by climate change. The movie conveniently skips over the fact that climate change is a thing that does cause more super storms to occur. It’s a small thing, but for those who don’t want to hear about any semblance of reality or the current world we live in, in their movies, you’ll be happy.

The effects and destruction on display in Twisters are top-notch. I was hunting for any sort of digital seam, any sort of hokey-looking digital effect, and I couldn’t find one. They’re absolutely seamless and only aid the force and feeling of these storms. They’re absolutely stunning to look at. Too many disaster films fall into the trap of just focusing on the storms or destruction, but not allowing them to sort of personify. Twisters not only shows the destructive force of Mother Nature, but allows for moments to gawk, gander, and just appreciate the beauty of tornadoes.

The real highlight of Twisters is the chemistry between the three main characters though. Glen Powell is likely to be the highlight based on his meteoric rise in popularity recently, but don’t forget about Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos either. Edgar-Jones, in particular, gets some material that could have been a disaster in melodrama. She handles it excellently and the moments where she gets to let loose and have some fun with Powell’s character are even better because of it. You see her fix the emotional wound of her past in real-time on screen. Ramos deals with his own wounds as well, those that come from effectively being abandoned by his friends.

Daisy Edgar-Jones in Twisters

When you combine it all together, from the performances, the action, the drama, and the effects, Twisters is an exceptional disaster movie. It might even teach you a thing or two about the science behind tornadoes. It also might have the greatest collection of current and future talent in a movie in recent memory. You’ve got Superman in a bit part, after all.

Twisters an absolute spectacle that hits you with some fantastic performances. Glen Powell is a stud, but don’t forget about Anthony Ramos or Daisy Edgar-Jones. The disaster blockbuster is back.

Twisters releases in theaters on July 19th, 2024.

For more Reviews, make sure to check back to That Hashtag Show.

Keep Reading:

The Inheritance – Family Is Horrific, Especially When Money Is Involved [Review]