Twisters

I still remember really enjoying a screening of Into the Storm at the cinema on a day exactly ten years ago. That was a proper B-movie, using really first-rate tornado trappings and featuring horribly written one-dimensional characters. Twisters is the A-movie equivalent of that film. While it again delivers scenes like fire tornadoes and storm-chasing wild youtubers, it does so with an Amblin-like playfulness, adventure and a steady grip on creativity. Daisy Edgar-Jones carries it well on her shoulders, and the charismatic Glen Powell confirms his status as the biggest rising male movie star of our time. While this is a follow-up to the 1996 blockbuster Twister, we don't see any “memoryberries” here, the only returning character is the Dorothy device and it's just enough. Twisters is the kind of refreshing summer fun that's often sorely lacking in cinemas, and even though the script could be picked apart piece by piece as catastrophic bullshit, I simply can’t be bothered. Call it guilty-pleasure if you want. (07/24/2024)

The first Twister is still a perfect summer blockbuster that hasn’t aged even in the action scenes, which are impressive thanks mainly to their sound design and the well-portrayed characters. At first glance, the new Twisters appears to be only a superficial update, with younger and better-looking actors who are able to convince you that climatology is hot. The setting is the same. We again watch two teams of storm chasers rushing after tornados. The dangerous situations (and science) again serve to bring the protagonists together. This time, however, they are not separated spouses (so this isn’t a tense variation on the marriage comedy), but representatives of two very different worlds: a cultivated urban lady and loud dude from the American South. The Southern setting is crucial for the story, as socio-cultural prejudices are overcome along with the traumas. The film implies that without cooperation and without stepping out of the position of mere viewers creating exclusive content for our YouTube channels, we cannot face disasters (the climax aptly takes place partly in a cinema, the last refuge before the apocalypse). I found the plot-driving transformation of the two main characters from witnesses to participants in the action who pursue the collective interest rather than their own personal interest to be sufficiently compelling and emotionally and intellectually stimulating that I could enjoy the film, even with all of its cliches, as a pleasantly straightforward disaster movie from the Spielberg school. 75% (07/16/2024)

I went to see the new release of the week in theaters yesterday which is kind of being seen as a sequel to the 90's film Twister and it's not bad, but it didn't completely blow me away unfortunately. It was nice to see Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar Jones, who plays the sort of intelligent woman who figures everything out. Visually it's decent, I liked that it keeps things down to earth and there are no overblown CGI attractions or destruction, it's quite realistic, but there's not a lot of action and it could have been presented more impressively (there aren’t many buildings flying off, the body-count isn't high, either, and I expected the atmosphere to be a bit more unpleasant and intense). For me there were a few deaf spots, it doesn't have a very adrenaline pace and I wouldn't watch the film again, or I wouldn't mind at all if I kept the film until I got home, it wouldn't change the experience. Passable average and a plus for the fact that disaster movies don't come around much anymore, but maybe it's not my cup of tea. 6/10. (07/19/2024)

This sequel to the 1990s classic doesn't bring back familiar characters, but it does bring back a familiar style. Lee Isaac Chung conceived Twisters as a 90s disaster actioner that isn't afraid to be a little silly and naive for the sake of fun, relies on likable heroes and big action scenes with good visual effects, and realistically doesn't surprise with anything at all. For the two hours, however, it entertains very pleasantly. (07/16/2024)