Twisters Review
Where to Watch: Theaters
Haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado, Kate Cooper gets lured back to the open plains by her friend, Javi, to test a groundbreaking new tracking system. She soon crosses paths with Tyler Owens, a charming but reckless social-media superstar who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures. As storm season intensifies, Kate, Tyler and their competing teams find themselves in a fight for their lives as multiple systems converge over central Oklahoma.
What I Thought:
I love disaster movies so this was a must see. I loved Twister which I'll tell you now was a better movie. Twister had more well rounded characters than Twisters. And while I'm all for powerful women, at least in Twister both Bill and Jo were capable and powerful in their own right. In Twisters (with an s) Kate is the powerhouse. Tyler is there just there to be pretty. They do imply he's capable in some regard but all the talent is on Kate. This isn't a story about a real person who basically turned the science on its head. It is about fictional characters accomplishing something so why is it only one of these characters seem capable?
The odd this to me is it really feels like it should be a sequel but isn't. There are definite nods to the original but it is not a sequel.
I did enjoy the CGI. The tornadoes looked real and it made for fantastic visuals. Powell and Edgar-Jones are actually really great in the movie. I believe their characters and I believe their chemistry. I actually enjoyed the film. For a fun "disaster" movie it is good.
But there were some things I couldn't get past. In the movie, Tyler Owens is a reckless social media star who goes out chasing tornadoes for, what seems to be, the glory. They toss in some altruistic reasons but they don't really ring true. It doesn't seem like he has a goal with his chasing aside from driving into a tornado and setting off rockets. Not only is this reckless but so stupid! Who would drive into a tornado?
Then we have this idea that he can plant his truck in front of a tornado, use these augers to anchor (a term I use loosely) into the ground while the tornado washes over them. Talk about the most irresponsible thing you could possibly do.
Meanwhile, you have our misguided character< Javi, trying to get a three dimensional scan of a tornado; or Kate trying to figure a way to quickly dissipate a tornado (which I actually think is the biggest fantasy idea in the movie).
In the 90s film the idea was just to send probes up into the tornado to get as much data as possible. Now apparently, we are trying to control storms. I can deal with most "fantasy" story telling but bring it to the realm of possibility. There are scientific ideas out there to try to stop a tornado but there are far too many variables involved in the creation of a storm. The premise just screams "we couldn't think of a real reason for the movie."
Overall, it was entertaining and it is enjoyable to watch. As disaster movies go it isn't the best but it will give you a good time. But if you are waiting for a steamy kiss between Tyler and Kate... you'll be waiting forever.