As many film fans may be aware, there is a 1996 film titled Twister, directed by Jan De Bont. It starred Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton and according to the synopsis were “on the brink of divorce.” Neither of these stars are in the 2024 film, Twisters, and the two leads in the new film are not married. Although they are both set in the action of tornadoes, they are different stories. I will not call this film a sequel, but it has similarities. They are both listed as action, adventure thrillers and rated PG 13.
Minari director Lee Isaac Chung’s “Twisters” is set in Oklahoma where storm chasers still exist almost thirty years later, but with different reasons and characters that support their efforts. Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones, Where the Crawdads Sing) is currently a meteorologist in New York after surviving a tornado disaster while working on her college courses. She believed the tornadoes could be dissipated and one effort ended in tragedy. Only one other member of her team, Javi (Anthony Ramos, “In the Heights”), survived. He convinces her to try once again, as he knows the level of work she has invested in for several years.
After returning to OK, Kate soon learns about a group of storm chasers who have a hit YouTube channel with many subscribers. Led by Tyler Owens (Glen Powell), his crew is high-tech and full of energy to head into any storm situation. You can’t miss Tyler’s good looks, but Kate ignores him when he calls her “city girl” without a clue who she is or what she has done. She is not sold by his wise cracks, nor the t-shirts they sell with his face on them. Romance is not on Kate’s mind.
Tyler and Javi both see something special in Kate and know the level of intelligence she has regarding these storms. Tyler finds out more about who Kate is, where she is from and pursues her to the family property owned by Cathy (Maura Tierney) to research even more. Of course, mama tells Tyler stories over the kitchen table.
Kate begins to change her mind about working with Javi only after she discovers that his financial backers are not to her liking. While she doesn’t abandon him, it is during the distance that Kate and Tyler share intelligent conversations, fight a storm together and help others. And Tyler smiles.
Lee Isaac Chung has a great cast to support the leads, including Sasha Lane, Kiernan Shipka, Tunde Adebimpe, Katy O’Brian, Harry Hadden-Paton and many more actors who perform as scientists and adventure-seekers. David Corenswet (Pearl, “The Polititian” TV series) stars as Javi’s associate from the corporate side and is very good as the character most everyone dislikes.
Director of photography Dan Mindel (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) does an excellent job of filming the script written by Mark L. Smith and Joseph Kosinski (based on characters created in the 1996 film). It would be nice to view the 1996 Twister film, but it is not necessary to view it to appreciate Twisters with such an excellent cast and crew. I really like that the film is family friendly except for scenes where the disasters may scare very small children. Twisters opens exclusively in theaters on July 19.
Source: Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures & Amblin Entertainment
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