(from left) Tyler (Glen Powell) and Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) in Twisters, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
A hometown boy takes an issue true to his heart and his home. Then, he makes it come to life on the big screen in their first blockbuster movie. It’s the ideal project for any director who ever imaged themselves making big movies. Lee Isaac Chung serves his first with Twisters, a film that calls back to the original Twister but with new characters.
Stormchaser Kate (Daisy Edgar Jones) is a graduate student who has recruited her best friends to join her to figure out how to weaken the storms that threaten her neighbours and the towns of Oklahoma natives who deal with vicious tornados. However, as Kate pushes her experiments, tragedy strikes leaving her on a new destination. When tornado season seems to be picking up one year, Kate is called back to the field with her friend, Javi (Anthony Ramos) whose new company has to deal with the annoyance of Tyler Owens (Glenn Powell) whose homemade stormchasing methods annoy (yet intrigue) Kate. As the two clash in their efforts to understand and capture the life of tornados, they are connected by their love for the people as the capitalist efforts fueling Javi threaten to divide the storm chasers apart.
Twisters is not named for its twists. Nothing here goes outside the life of a normal blockbuster. But for that reason I think it has more life. Though subtle, Lee Isaac Chung’s indie touch can be seen in the more human moments found in Mark L. Smith’s script (The Revenant) While the film is not saying anything new, the way Chung captures this conflict of ‘man versus tornado’ has touches of realism some might fail to include. The film’s script is able to weave in moments that take our fear for the safety of others and make it the goals of the characters. As we see the main characters fight, sacrifice and do everything in their power to protect people, every mistake, every selfish choice and every accident that leads to human cost weighs heavy on the hearts of the audience. Chung includes coverage of the crowd in ways that helps us see many as individuals in a harrowing situation, not just a ‘mindless blob’ being shaken by a CGI monster. On the CGI front, the film delivers as the budget allows the constant tornado scenes to be immersive and threatening. Some scenes are able to include new elements to the normal howling winds and storm sounds that other disaster movies like Twister have provided in the past.
The cinematography and the music are also nothing special. The music does have nice piano and string moments in quieter moments of the film and the music in the intense scenes for the most part is fitting. One scene does add dramatic string stings for no strong reason which was a bit distracting. The cinematography is nice overall, with a very modernist film approach with film being used to shoot the epic scenes while also being intercut with phone footage to represent the angle and perspective of Tyler Owens YouTube Tornado Gang.
Even so, the writing is very solid with good callbacks and character development. It’s certainly nothing you haven’t seen before but it is well done. It calls back to films like Top Gun: Maverick that let their characters be earnest and struggle but also let them be badasses. Daisy Edgar Jones does a great job as this as a character battling PTSD and facing her fears. There aren’t long scenes of exposition to explain what happened between time jumps but her character is explored well through the scenes while still focusing on the spectacle that you came for. She takes control in situations and you believe Daisy Edgar Jones as this badass and talented scientist. Glenn Powell also does a great job taking us on a wild ride as a cocky performer who slowly lowers his guard and is able to be vulnerable with a new person. The rest of the cast is filled out well but the new Superman, David Corenswet, suffers from being the most absurd antagonistic character, especially in one scene.
It is redeemed with the films sense of humor, which is consistent and present. They aren’t amazing jokes but Mark L Smith has a good sense of humor and the actors often sell the human hilarity of being with friends in complicated situations. These are the moments that I feel have been often lacking in modern blockbusters. While the script can be analyzed as formulaic, the details often shine above others, making Twisters both the guilty pleasure audiences love and the well-made, fun-loving film that audiences deserve in their blockbusters.
Twisters is in theatres on Friday, July 19th, 2024.
