Film Review – Twisters (2024)

Back in 1996, director Jan De Bont brought us Twister, a fast n fierce blockbuster that turned out to be a ground breaker. It took special effects to a higher level with its spiralling tornados, menacing skies and a certain flying cow that became the film’s abiding image. Nearly thirty years later, we have Twisters, a new version with strong echoes of the original. A sequel? A re-boot? Does it really matter?

At the centre of the action is meteorologist Kate Carter (Glen Powell), self-styled tornado wrangler and social media star, whose attitude towards his work is less than scientific. The storm season begins and their respective teams go head-to-head as multiple twisters converge over Oklahoma, threatening thousands of lives, including their own.

If that sounds like we’re on familiar ground, it’s because we are. In fact, for the first half hour, it feels we’re in for a blow by blow copy of the original, opening with a bone shaking storm that sets out the film’s CGI credentials. They’re seriously impressive, with lowering, rippling clouds and those awe-inspiring funnels, but now we’re taken right into the heart of the tornado, with debris coming from all directions, near zero visibility and a powerful sense of isolation in a world totally out of control. The disaster movie, something of a rarity these days, is back with a resounding bang and there’s only one place to watch a film like this – on the biggest screen you can find.

Despite the similarities with the 1996 movie – the two storm chasing teams, the tracking system called Dorothy – there are more than enough differences to take it into re-boot territory. Glen Powell’s showy influencer has been attracting most of the attention and gives the film its essential touch of romance – strip down the story and you have a very traditional film – but the real interest lies in how director Lee Isaac Chung has brought it right into the now. The landscape is peppered with wind turbines, gifting the tornados with savage weapons and the drive through movie of the original now becomes a rodeo, with more people and animals scattered in all directions. And there’s a shift in emphasis: we’re already used to seeing the damage done to the landscape, but now it’s all about the heart stopping devastation inflicted on people and their communities. What were previously breathtaking forces of nature – and still are – are also genuinely terrifyingly relentless. There is one thing missing, however, and that’s the words “climate change.”

If there’s one thing that stands in the way of Twisters being a total blast, it’s a feeble sub-plot with one of Kate’s team getting involved with big business. It feels like an add-on and is little more than an irritant. That aside, the film wears its traditional disaster movie badge with pride, with Powell cementing his reputation as a proper, old-fashioned movie star. He has the looks – his wet, white t-shirt produced audible gasps – but he also has the acting chops, as we’ve already seen this year. All he needs now is a meaty dramatic role. This is a film that’ll blow you away. Call it a sequel, if you want. Or call it a re-boot. Ultimately, what matters is that it’s simply spectacular big screen entertainment – just what cinemas and audiences need right now.

★★★★

In UK cinemas from 17 July / Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, Daryl McCormack, Sasha Lane, Harry Hadden-Paton, David Corenswet, Katy O’Brian / Dir: Lee Isaac Chung / Warner Brothers / 12A