Twisters (2024) Review

 "We got twins!  Twins!"
-Boone



After a traumatic and deadly event involving a tornado, Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones) retires from storm chasing.  Five years later, Kate's old teammate, Javi (Anthony Ramos), convinces her to go back out into the field to try and get the most advanced scan of a tornado ever.


What Works:

I was really nervous when I heard about Twisters.  The original Twister is my favorite movie of all time.  I was obsessed with it when I was a kid.  I've seen it about a hundred times and can basically quote it word for word.  I was nervous a sequel might tarnish the original in some way.  I cannot express to you the relief I felt when the movie ended.  The original Twister is left untainted and Twisters manages to be a very worthy sequel that I loved watching.

Twisters has some really great characters and performances.  All three leads give very likable and complex performances.  The characters are very well written and have great arcs.  And all of the supporting characters served their purpose well and I loved the enthusiasm that Tyler Owen (Glen Powell) and his team had for storm chasing.

Any time Tyler's team is doing something goofy involving tornadoes, I was loving it.  I was crying with laughter when they launched fireworks up the funnel of the tornado.  These scenes were my favorite of the movie and I love the spirit of fun they bring to the film.

That said, the tornado sequences themselves are terrifying and intense.  Tornadoes are dangerous and deadly and even though the movie has fun stuff in it, it doesn't hesitate to remind you that storm chasing can be very dangerous.  The movie is genuinely thrilling and awe-inspiring.

I like that this film is almost entirely standalone from the original.  Apart from an appearance from Dorothy, there really isn't anything that connects the two.  Sure, there are a few Easter eggs in terms of dialogue from the original, but those are really only for the super fans of the original.  Most people wouldn't even notice them even if they had seen the original.  This is its own movie, which was the right call, especially with Bill Paxton and Phillip Seymore Hoffman no longer being with us.

Finally, the movie does do a version of the drive-in theater sequence from the original, but it's in just a regular movie theater.  This was a really great sequence and a fun 3rd act location.  I especially like the choice of movie playing on the screen during the tornado.


What Sucks:

The soundtrack needed some Van Halen.


Verdict:

Twisters was such a relief.  It's not just good, but it's my favorite movie so far of 2024.  Lack of Van Halen aside, it had everything I wanted.  It's genuinely thrilling with some great characters and performances.  It's fun, scary, and just a blast to watch.  Twisters has absolutely got it going on and it's hard for me to put into words about how happy that makes me.

 10/10: Amazing 

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