After the subtle, graceful, and sensitively directed humanist drama “Minari,” filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung pulls a massive 180 shift with the blockbuster-sized “Twisters,” a summer event/epic disaster movie that proves he has the chops to create extravagant action set pieces and popcorn-friendly spectacle, but at the expense of his intimate personal touches and affinity for anything resembling complexity.
“Twisters” attempts to do it all: cineplex thrills, deadly serious viscerally dramatic treatments to harrowing sequences, light-hearted laughs, a burgeoning romance, and deep trauma from the past. But all these tones don’t gel together quite convincingly and are either cliché or don’t work at all, especially in the laughs department, where most of the movie falls flat. Moreover, as written by Mark L. Smith (“The Revenant”), “Twisters” features creaky, sometimes cringe-y dialogue, holds almost no surprises, and escalates conventionally and formulaically after you’re introduced to all the players in the story. You know where this storm is headed and what precipitous weather you’ll get. And maybe that will appease “Twister” die-hards but may leave everyone else wanting.
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“Twisters” starts with a prologue and muscular action set piece that’s supposed to be the lingering emotional weight of the movie and the psychic baggage and trauma the leads can’t shake. Storm chaser and near-PhD level researcher Kate Cooper (a mostly wasted Daisy Edgar-Jones, who is much better than this material), and her colleagues Javi (Anthony Ramos), Addy (Kiernan Shipka), Praveen (Nik Dodani), and boyfriend (Daryl McCormack), are trying to “tame tornadoes.” Yet, Cooper is nearly obsessed with pushing things into the danger zone so she can get a grant to pursue her dreams of calming tornadoes with a mix of science and technology. But bullish on it all, she goes too far, and most of her team is killed, including her paramour.
Chung’s movie then cuts to five years later. Haunted by the devasting incident, Kate has abandoned storm chasing to become a meteorologist in New York, the polar opposite of her Oklahoma stomping grounds. But like clockwork, Javi suddenly visits and lures her back into the field with the promise of big tech and big dollars behind him, plus a groundbreaking new tracking system that can do much good and potentially save lives. Initially reluctant, she’s soon persuaded to go back home; as Javi convinces her that no one has the natural instincts and savvy to read the weather in real-time like she can (a bit eye-roll-ish, to be honest).
Once back in Oklahoma, Kate joins Javi’s corporately sponsored StormPar team and his stiff and humorless business partner Scott (David Corenswet) to start chasing storms and collect important weather data that could be a game-changer for early repones cyclone warnings. But there’s also a cowboy crew in town, led by a cocky and arrogant Tyler Owens (Glenn Powell), a famous “tornado wrangler” or, as one character puts it, “a hillbilly with a YouTube channel.”
Tyler’s crew is predictably wildcard and pretty much the cliched version of a ragtag motley crew squad. Uncouth and untrained, this troop relies on a mix of bravado and reckless fearlessness; yeah, man! There’s Boone (Brandon Perea), the videographer and social media lead; drone operator Lilly (Sasha Lane), a rugged mechanic; Dani (Katy O’Brian); and one sole, mildly eccentric scientist, Dexter (Tunde Adebimpe). Adding one more odd-man-out to the mix is Ben (Harry Hadden-Paton), a British journalist profiling Tyler for his smug and heedless antics. But none of these actors have more than one note to play.
Unsurprisingly, the two crews clash, the rock n’ rollers vs. the squares, with each team behaving in the familiar pattern of their one-dimensional shape. Tyler’s company is rash and volatile, lighting off fireworks in the middle of a tornado for adrenalin kicks and YouTube views, and Javi’s team are straight-laced metric nerds that are all business and no fun. And, of course, it’s windstorm season, so conveniently, there’s a tornado to be found every five minutes.
But everything is not what it seems on the surface, though often telegraphed in groan-worthy scenes; Tyler’s crew actually cares for the communities affected by the destructive storms, despite all outward looks to the contrary. Javi’s StormPar company is being bankrolled by a real estate tycoon and opportunist trying to profit off the locals’ misfortunes, which strains his relationship with Katie. Goodness, ethics, and bonds are tested, but it often feels like a black-and-white kindergarten version of morality lessons.
Eventually, as you can easily surmise, everyone joins forces, in the end, to fight the mother of all twisters and save lives. But the bulk of the film is an increasing series of escalating tornado dangers with a few side detours for melancholy reflection (haunted past alert!) and a slowly budding romance between Tyler and Kate, who clearly hated each other at first, much like any routine romantic comedy.
A spiritual sequel to Jan de Bont’s 1996 “Twister,” something of an escapist popcorn classic, and not directly tied to it, this new iteration more or less feels like a modern remake with many of the same kind of dynamics and colorful supporting characters. And maybe your nostalgia mileage may vary, but “Twisters” just isn’t as fun, entertaining, and light on its feet. Sure, it aims for those moments here and there, especially in the beginning, with Tyler acting like the most obnoxious form of vainglorious showboating and his team being the wild bunch, but “Twisters” often takes itself far too seriously. Rather than delivering entertaining excitement, it goes grim and darker with distressingly dangerous, deadly, somber sequences (with some sequences just a little too exhaustingly drawn out). A little more countrified than the original, a soundtrack featuring Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, etc., this is really only the minor distinction from the original other than being a little too dour in spots.
So much of “Twisters” feels too familiar. Powell plays basically another version of the cocksure character he played in “Top Gun: Maverick,” and most of the characters have an insufferable “we have a need for speed!” mien. And with a “story-by” credit from filmmaker Joseph Kosinski, you can see the parrels to ‘Maverick,’ but it’s a poor man’s “Top Gun” sequel, missing the magic and expertly balanced mix of four-quadrant thrills and delights.
Following his direction on series like “The Mandalorian” and the upcoming “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew,” with “Twisters,” Chung demonstrates he’s a quick study in the action realm and verifies his blockbuster bonafides. But again, the cost is high. Chung could be in line for a Marvel film next, which might suit his career and bank account. But unlike a Ryan Coogler, who always brought an emotional, thoughtful touch to his superhero films, all of the empathetic grace notes Chung was previously known for are nowhere to be found, drowned out in a wet, soggy tempest of noise, screams, yee haws! and catastrophic weather. Twister$, this is not. [C]
“Twisters” arrives in theaters via Universal on July 19.