‘Twisters’ – Review
The full force of the storm lashes out at audiences in Twisters, and this is a pure popcorn blockbuster with plenty of thrills, a dash of romance and a whole heap of reckless attitude. So buckle up and get ready to ride the whirlwind.
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.
Leading audiences into the torrential adrenaline of Twisters is filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung, who is following up on Twisters after his critically lauded work on Minari, and he makes this a movie-going experience of full-on rock ‘n’ roll fun. Chung brings incredible energy and kinetic speed to Twisters, and from the very start, he unleashes the power of nature at full force. Drawing inspiration from his past living in Arkansas, a state with its own history of tornados, Chung leads audiences into the country heartland of Oklahoma and the mixture of scientists and daredevils who see storm chasing as a way of life. Chung has a lot of space to play in with this picture and focuses on themes of fear, belief and discovery, all of which add an incredible kick to the film’s narrative.
Chung lucks out with an incredible cast, and leading right from the start is the super talented Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kate Cooper, a gifted meteorologist with an almost sixth sense to predict the weather, but who, after suffering a tragic accident, has been left as an utter shell of a person. She is pulled back into the chase by her friend Javi (Anthony Ramos), a former Army veteran who had gotten his hands on advanced DARPA tech and hopes to use it to see into the very eye of the storm. With a new purpose, Kate jumps into a truck and gets back on the chase, and the adrenaline starts spiking from there. As she is prone to do, Edgar-Jones fully disappears into the character of Kate, and as the narrative moves forward, we see the layers begin to shed from this Oklahoma girl as she has to confront her past and the fear that’s wrapped itself around her for so long.
Playing off of Kate’s logic in Twisters is Hollywood’s new leading man, Glen Powell, who is a pure cowboy in the role of ‘Tornado Wrangler’ Tyler Owens. A maverick former bull rider turned storm chaser, Tyler is a social media superstar who acts first and thinks later, and he’s ready to go to the fullest extent to experience the raw power of mother nature in some of Twisters’ most hair-raising action scenes. While Tyler might at first be a brash and reckless daredevil, much like Kate, there’s considerable layering and depth to his character, and at his core, he’s a genuine stand-up guy who’s willing to do the right thing. Edgar-Jones and Powell have a fantastic sense of chemistry together, and you can just feel the butterflies. Then there’s Powell’s swaggering sex appeal, which, when fitted out with a cowboy hat, white t-shirt, jeans and a rain storm, will send the ladies in the audience into a frenzy.
Chung finds considerable speed and action with Twisters with this disaster-chase-romance film, and it stands out as something different from other blockbusters we’ve seen this year. Chung and cinematographer Dan Mindel bring an Andrew Wyeth quality to the imagery, with its ghostly palette of blue, green, grey and white, and they capture the rustic country beauty of the Oklahoma plains. The brunt of the storm also falls heavy on audiences, and through a combination of practical effects and stunning CGI, the colossal and completely unforgiving power of mother nature is brought full force onto the big screen, and it’s damn frightening at times.
Twisters is a cinematic experience that will throw you right back into your seat, and its heavy storm scenes and tornado ferocity hit at full force. Taking cues from mother nature herself, Chung throws the action of the storm straight at audiences without any warning, and it gets damn gnarly as the narrative builds, and there’s nowhere to hide. Key moments include the ‘Hayride Tornado’ scene and the film’s final climatic third act that sees mother nature unleash sheer carnage inside a movie theatre, and seeing it up on the big screen, you’ll be utterly floored by the experience. Twisters is a true blockbuster experience, and its rock ‘n’ roll flair is only increased by its rocking soundtrack, which includes a list of some of the best country artists working today, including Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, Bailey Zimmerman and Tanner Adell.
If you’re looking for that cinema rush, Twisters is a hell of an adrenaline-pumping rodeo experience and proves that there’s nothing better than the thrill of the chase!
Image: Warner Brothers
