Time: 122 Minutes
Age Rating: M
Cast:
Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kate Cooper
Glen Powell as Tyler Owens
Anthony Ramos as Javi
Director: Lee Isaac Chung

The original Twister was an entertaining cheesy disaster movie, which became something of a classic. While I enjoyed it, I was a bit skeptical when a sequel was announced. It was releasing 26 years after the original, and didn’t appear to have anything to do with that movie. The thing that had me interested however was the fact this was the next movie from Minari filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung, so I decided to check it out in cinemas for that reason. It turned out to be one of the most surprising movies of the year. 

The biggest question that one might have about Twisters is how it relates to the original film, Twister. The simple answer is that it’s completely standalone. There are no returning characters, no references to the original film, just another movie about storm chasing and large destructive tornadoes. So if you never watched the original movie, you can easily jump into this without any issues. The movie is quite fun to watch across its 2 hour runtime. One of the most surprising aspects for me was the story. The plot was serviceable in the previous movie, but was much better here. I found myself a lot more invested in what was happening, and it was emotionally engaging when it needed to be. While it is predictable, this human story has a lot of passion to it (even when you really only get to know 2-3 of the characters), and the emotional core added extra weight to the spectacle.

The movie also benefits from a great cast. Daisy Edgar-Jones makes for a compelling lead, Glen Powell is charismatic as ever, and those two have particularly good chemistry, making them both enjoyable to watch. Anthony Ramos and the rest of the supporting cast including Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, David Corenswet, and Katy O’Brian were also quite good.

Some indie filmmakers’ blockbuster turns don’t turn out so well, but Lee Isaac Chung impresses with his work on Twisters. It’s very well shot and makes the most of the environments. The set pieces with the tornados were also very impressive and intense. There’s a lot of great destruction, and the sound design and visual effects are fantastic.

Twisters is an entertaining and thrilling disaster movie, with an emotionally grounded story, incredible direction, great cast and stellar visual effects and set pieces. A really good standalone sequel that’s better than the original film.