Twisters

I’ll be honest. I don’t remember much about the first Twister…a cow, I suppose. But that’s OK; we have a brand new adventure, and only the twisters are back in Lee Isaac Chung’s disaster thriller, Twisters.

Our story opens with a band of student scientists who dub themselves Storm Tamers. They are led by Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones), Javi (Anthony Ramos), and a few others (who are unimportant once the prologue is over…sorry). Kate believes she has found a way to depower a tornado, and today is the day of the initial test. Things go horribly wrong, and the others don’t make it.

Jump forward a few years, and the PTSD-laden Kate is working for a weather service, and Javi arrives for a surprise visit. Javi has gotten his hands on military-grade technology that will scan a tornado, providing details that have never been captured before. Javi needs Kate’s tornado instincts to find the next tornado and help set up the camera to get the perfect scan.

Famous YouTuber Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) is competing for tornado time. He has his own team and a truck that can drill itself into the ground and park right in the middle of the tornado. He has views, merch, and a winning personality. Tyler realizes that Kate knows something about twisters and decides to follow Kate and Javi and steal their thunder.

“Kate believes she has found a way to depower a tornado, and today is the day of the initial test.”

Then there’s our antagonist, the twister. For some unnamed reason, this season, tornados are appearing in higher frequency and at higher velocity, leaving small town after small town in their wake. Boy, it would be great if Kate’s original experiments to depower tornados could actually work.

If you care about science, I highly suggest that you stay away from Twisters. Facts and theories are played fast and loose here, and your brain might explode. In fact, if you leave your brain in the car, Twisters is actually a fun roller coaster ride. Twisters not only harkens back to the disastrous fun of the first, but it also harkens back to the Irwin Allen disaster films from the late 70s. In fact, after watching Twisters, you might find yourself wanting to watch Sharknado all over again.

I remember watching Towering Inferno, Poseidon Adventures, and Earthquake for the star power and the danger A-Listers put themselves in. We don’t have any A-Listers here, but damn, Glen Power is positioning himself in that role. Daisy Edgar-Jones is strong, determined, and adorable. New Superman David Corenswet plays a character whose name I can remember…I’ll call him Dick. Anthony Ramos is also here to lend some stability to the cast. Stars in danger…check.

Yeah, there are massive plot holes, a greedy real estate developer, and cringe-worthy humanitarian efforts to show that we’re all not that bad. How many times do we have to hear, “We have to warn the people!” Though climate change is never mentioned by name, we all know this is the film’s villain. You may just love watching the escalation of all the cool things a tornado can destroy.

Twisters delivers a thrilling, albeit scientifically loose, ride that taps into the nostalgic fun of classic disaster films. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell bring solid performances, capturing the high-stakes action and adventure with flair. Leave your brain at the door and enjoy this wild homage to chaotic, tornado-chasing fun.