I was a teenager when the first Twister came out. It was one of the summer blockbusters my brothers and I looked forward to every year. It was everything we were looking for in a summer spectacle film. Action, romance, and a crazy disaster-themed storyline with plenty of CGI tornadoes to go around. A flying cow and product placement to boot. Twenty-eight years later it still brings me plenty of enjoyment. Little did I know there was going to be a sequel that I never thought I wanted until I got it, called Twisters. Catchy right?

Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones, Where the Crawdads Sing)) is a meteorologist in New York City. She’s trying to get as far away from her home in Oklahoma as she can. Until an old colleague of hers Javier (Anthony Ramos, In the Heights) comes to New York to get her to join his business endeavor. A team of storm-chasers with new technologies to track tornadoes and try to help avert mass destruction. Her past haunts her, but her curiosity gets the better of her and she decides to go work for her friend and his team Storm Par.  When she gets back to her home in Oklahoma she meets a charming cocky “Stom Wrangler ” Tyler (Glen Powell, Hit Man) Soon the two teams compete against each other., but as is the case with disaster films, carnage ensues.

Directors have upped their game when it comes to disaster films. They’ve been around for decades now, but with the onset of CGI visual effects these films have looked better and better. Twister had very good visual effects for its time in 1996, but the visuals in this one blew them out of the water. Multiple tornado sequences looked and sounded like they were actually taking place at the time the movie was going on. Add In the fact that one of them involved a movie theater showing Frankenstein and you had a full circle moment within the film. That’s what’s called metta I guess. These storms looked as authentic as I could possibly imagine. That’s why the film works so well for me.

Glen Powell is an actor who has been gaining some steam in Hollywood as a leading man. With films like Hit Man, and Anybody But You in recent months under his belt he is developing quite the following. This movie won’t change that. In fact, it will enhance his star quality even more. He just has that it factor to become this generation’s Tom Cruise. Ironically enough he co-starred with Cruise in the sequel to Top Gun, Top Gun Maverick a couple years ago. He has charm and charisma for days. It is no wonder he keeps getting these roles. He has great chemistry with Edgar Jones as well. They are both a terrific pair replacing the late Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt from the original film.

Daisy Edgar Jones has had a few bites at the apple regarding leading roles in the aforementioned Where the Crawdads Sing and Fresh and opposite Andrew Garfield in the critically acclaimed streaming show from Hulu Under the Banner of Heaven. She’s developing into a terrific young actress. This is her first lead role in a big summer blockbuster though. She holds her own opposite Powell quite nicely. The fact that she’s harboring some past remorsefulness gives her character some depth and nuance. She’s at home in this type of role. I can see her getting more of them in the near future.

There are a few things about Twister that give it a nice look and feel. The sequel, Twisters, takes those things and runs with them. Things like product placement such as Dodge Ram was a big part of the original film and they are all over this sequel. One in the form of a super truck that can specially withstand tornadoes. Product placement is a huge part of the revenue of movies, but it’s literally a massive part of this film. From beginning to end. 

One of my favorite parts of the original Twister was its supporting cast. Cary Elwes, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Alan Ruck, and Lois Smith among others were in it. Twisters has an equally stellar cast. Sasha Lane, Katy O’Brian,  Maura Tierney and David Corenswet are just a few of the supporting cast that bring a nice element to the film. It’s mostly a three-hander, but Isaac Chung assembled quite an excellent group. 

The one thing that put this movie over the top for me as one of the best films of the summer is the cold opening that blew me away. The cold opening caught me off guard, but then I  remembered the original Twister had one as well. With the advanced technology of sound and visual effects, this scene at the beginning of the movie got me prepared for what was going to come in the rest of this disaster film. Things happened in this opening sequence that I didn’t expect and I was completely shocked by what I saw. This scene showed viewers who weren’t familiar with the power and the devastating destruction and death toll these storms can bring. After this opening sequence, I was completely invested in this film. Having been through tornadoes in my lifetime I understand what Isaac Chung and Joseph Kosinski were trying to do with this cold opening. They achieved their goal of shock and awe.

A couple of things that make this sequel better than average along with the other things I already mentioned were its soundtrack littered with country songs. One called Oklahoma was especially appealing to me while listening to it. The other thing is the sense of humor the movie has. A funny line I liked was “If you see it chase it” That was quite cute and became a monta for the entire movie from that point on. These additions showed me the filmmaker was on top of his game during all aspects of this production. He knew what he wanted from day one from my perspective. 

Twisters was a worthy successor of the original film. It had everything I could have possibly wanted in a sequel/reboot of this classic film. The two leads, Edgar-Jones and Powell, are both fantastic together. They have great chemistry and I genuinely cared for the journey they went on within the context of the movie. The cold opening was a complete gut punch and prepared me for what was about to come for the rest of the film. The CGI visual effects are something to behold throughout. Many of the storm sequences were edge-of-your-seat moments. This is one of the best films this summer and Isaac Ching made a worthy disaster movie audiences will keep going back to over and over again.

4 ½ Stars

Dan Skip Allen