I’m not sure about anyone else, but when I saw the first trailer for “Twisters” debut, I was hoping for a direct sequel to the 1996 original “Twister.”
Well, I’ve come to tell you that none of the characters in the new flick have any relation to the original.
But, outside of that, there’s definitely some worthwhile chemistry throughout the main cast and plenty of sassy quips from the lead – Kate Carter played by Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Plus, I still maintain that the tornados themselves function as characters and completely make me never want to visit Tornado Alley.
Twisters is a 2024 American disaster film directed by Lee Isaac Chung from a screenplay by Mark L. Smith, based on a story by Joseph Kosinski.
Serving as a standalone sequel to Twister, the film stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, and Anthony Ramos, with Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, Sasha Lane, Kiernan Shipka, Nik Dodani, David Corenswet, Daryl McCormack, Katy O’Brian, Tunde Adebimpe, David Born, and Harry Hadden-Paton in supporting roles.
Clocking in at 122 minutes long, the movie is rated PG-13 for intense action and peril, some language, and injury images.
Kate Carter works in Oklahoma with storm chasers Javi (Ramos), Addy (Shipka), Praveen (Dodani), and her boyfriend Jeb (McCormack).
Alongside a Dorothy V doppler, the team launches barrels of sodium polyacrylate solution into a tornado in hopes of reducing its intensity and securing funding for further research.
However, the crew is caught in the middle as it grows into an EF5 - Addy, Praveen, and Jeb are killed, while Kate and Javi survive.
Five years later, Kate works at a NOAA office in New York City.
Javi, working for tornado mobile radar company Storm Par, offers Kate a one-week position with his team to test a new tornado scanning system.
Kate only accepts after Javi sends a news report about a tornado destroying a town.
Kate and Javi joined the Storm Par team in Oklahoma, which includes Javi’s business partner Scott (Corenswet).
Popular YouTube storm chaser Tyler Owens (Powell), known as the “Tornado Wrangler”, also arrives in Oklahoma looking to capitalize on a predicted tornado outbreak.
Tyler is joined by his crew of Boone (Perea), Dani (O’Brian), Dexter (Adebimpe), and Lily (Lane), as well as English journalist Ben (Paton).
Storm Par and Tyler’s crew chase an EF1 tornado that has touched down in a nearby wind farm.
Kate suffers a panic attack, rendering her unable to help Javi set up the final scanner; she instead drives away.
The team successfully launches the scanning system for the next tornado, an EF3 that momentarily splits into two, but strong winds blow out the third scanner.
Kate and Javi barely escape and drive to the nearby tornado-ravaged town of Crystal Springs to help recovery efforts and happen to run into Tyler’s crew.
Having dismissed Tyler and his team as glory hounds, Kate is surprised to learn they use merchandise profits to aid tornado victims, while Storm Par investor Marshall Riggs (Born) profiteers by purchasing tornado-damaged land.
However, the outbreak of tornados isn’t the only storm brewing as Kate does some private research into Riggs and ends up confronting Javi about it – along with his jaded attitude about Riggs.
Overall, Twisters seems to build upon the original despite being about 25 years apart and without mentioning any of the original cast – an interesting and admirable feat.
Not to mention, if they ever want to do a third film in the franchise, I’d be down to watch it and see how Kate’s work impacts the future of chaotic weather events like tornados.
