Lee Isaac Chung’s last film was Minari, where the Korean-American family has to deal with the unfamiliar threat of tornadoes. That and the setting in Tornado Alley are among the few things that that Oscar-winning film has in common with his latest movie, Twisters, a sequel to the 1996 blockbuster. I remember watching Jan de Bont’s original film and the dissatisfaction with the story and characters that I felt coming out of the theater. Maybe I’m softening up in my old age, but I feel more kindly disposed toward this one.
For a movie that goes hip-deep into meteorological science, it starts with a splendidly stupid premise: Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is a weather scientist who wants to kill tornadoes. Her theory is that releasing moisture-absorbing polymers into the funnel cloud will cause the storm to dissipate, but when she tries out her idea, it goes wrong and her entire crew dies, including her boyfriend (Daryl McCormack). Years later, her ex-colleague Javi (Anthony Ramos) lures her back to her native Oklahoma with the promise of conducting unprecedented research on an equally unprecedented cluster of twisters. Standing in their way is Tyler Owens (Glen Powell), a former rodeo cowboy-turned-YouTube celebrity storm chaser whose adrenaline-drunk redneck persona rubs Kate and Javi the wrong way.
The Austin native Powell comes into this with a lot of heat on his career, what with his assured and likable performances in Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone but You, and Hit Man. I fully expected him to dominate the movie, and he is no slouch here. What I didn’t expect was Edgar-Jones effortlessly carrying this thing, as Kate refuses to be impressed by Tyler’s charm and lets him think that she’s some desk-bound weather geek from New York City who’s never been to a rodeo. She out-charismas Powell, which is no small feat, and she manages to convey her character’s guilt over her lost crew without harshing the fun vibe of this popcorn film.
I wish that the actors around them brought as much. The prissy British journalist (Harry Hadden-Paton) who profiles Tyler is a regrettable caricature, though at least he gets to prove his mettle before the end. The movie is stacked with interesting actors who receive scant opportunity to show why they’re interesting (Maura Tierney, Kiernan Shipka, Sasha Lane, Katy O’Brian, Nik Dodani, Tunde Adebimpe). The bit with Javi working for some predatory real-estate mogul (David Born) who buys up people’s tornado-destroyed property for cheap is an interesting bit that isn’t followed up on, and the same goes for Tyler’s fans who are out chasing storms themselves — I kept expecting their amateur presence to create problems for our heroes, and no such luck. Mark L. Smith’s script seems desperate to prove its scientific bona fides, with all the meteorological jargon that it drops on us. I’m not qualified to say whether all that talk makes sense, but I will say that it slows things down considerably.
Chung’s smooth direction makes sure that it isn’t too much. The climactic tornado hits a gas refinery and creates a firenado, and I do wish he had stuck with that as the movie’s major villain. Nevertheless, the film doesn’t drag, and he makes a few cool moves with the effects, like a seamless throwaway shot of Kate imagining her boyfriend lying in bed next to her and then sitting bolt upright to find him gone. The soundtrack packed with new country tunes also does its part to keep the proceedings moving, and Luke Combs’ powerhouse “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” fits the mood perfectly.
The sequel’s nod to the original is the presence of James Paxton, whose father Bill starred in Twister. Maybe the best recommendation I can make is that the late Fort Worth actor would have appreciated this.
Twisters
Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell. Directed by Lee Isaac Chung. Written by Mark L. Smith. Rated PG-13.
