A wave of happiness flooded over me with the new TWISTERS movie, a rather unique continuation of smart people going right into the path of tornados. Jan De Bont’s flawed but deliriously entertaining 1996 picture TWISTER was a huge hit in its theatrical release in 1996, and I remember seeing it in cinemas on opening day and while some of the dialogue and performances were corny to me at the time, the movie has held up incredibly well on repeat viewings and also has some of the late great Bill Paxton’s best work.
A new movie based on this was not at the top of my list for continuing a film property decades later, but of course I want to give everything a shot and with the great looks of new movie-star Glen Powell (HIT MAN, ANYONE BUT YOU, TOP GUN: MAVERICK) and Daisy Edgar-Jones (WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING), things looked very promising. None of the original cast or even talent behind the screen have returned, and this is one of those pesky “new concepts” that we all wish more sequels, remakes and reboots would try out.
Luckily, this new TWISTERS has a lot of the charm of the original and even quite a few references but takes things in a new direction that works very well. It starts with Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) who is now working in New York, five years after a horrible incident happened with tornado tracking that resulted in most of her crew getting killed. When an old friend named Javi (Anthony Ramos) comes to New York trying to lure her back into the game, she reluctantly accepts to go back to New York with a new crew. Also in the game is a rival (but not “evil”) group led by Tyler (Glen Powell) who are more into this for their YouTube channel and followers…now over a million!
While the movie does have the great Glen Powell who is once again charming and great to look at on the big screen, the real star here is Daisy Edgar-Jones who I hope will make her a household name. She is so confident, interesting, smart and dedicated as Kate and you really buy her determination. The partnership here is even something I thought was better than the Bill Paxton/Helen Hunt pairing of the first.
The director here is a surprisingly great choice in Lee Isaac Chung (MINARI) who brings such a balanced tone to the action along with very strong storytelling and penchant for visual effects. With MINARI, it was clear he was an Asian-American who grew up in Arkansas, and he really does know both the locale and the people. We care about everyone on screen and there’s less “good versus evil” of the first. The entire creative team here has created such a gorgeous looking big screen experience.
Smart, intense at times and filled with a stunning look by cinematographer Dan Mindel with a lovely 35mm look (Mindel’s tradition), TWISTERS absolutely works from beginning to end and is one of the very best movies of this summer season. Sadly there are no flying cows in this one, but that’s okay too.
Boring Tech Notes: TWISTERS was shot in the 35mm format just like the original movie by cinematographer Dan Mindel, and is also available in the IMAX format. There is not really much need to see the movie in IMAX as the footage will never expand to the full aspect ratio. I have heard quite a few reports on the enhanced 4DX version which is VERY “immersive” as it features wind, lighting and even water effects, has been very popular in the limited locations it has run in. I’m not really high on enhanced formats, but your mileage may vary.