A movie like Twisters was inevitable. But it should’ve been made about 25 years ago. Reportedly production on the first Twister wasn’t the most pleasant. It was Jan De Bont’s first movie after the success of Speed. And it was also Bill Paxton’s first starring vehicle in a huge blockbuster. The popularity of Helen Hunt was also exploding. So, when you have three people who are some of the hottest of the time, you’re going get the perfect storm.
Reportedly, both Paxton and Hunt suffered serious damage to their eyes because of the use of extremely bright lights. So, I can understand their reluctance to return without a huge paycheck. Twisters had problems as well as it was filming in Oklahoma during a very wet spring. I was initially hired to be an extra during what would be the climatic scene but production dates kept changing, ironically, because of weather issues. By mid-July 2023, it looked like it was ready to go. Then the SAG-AFTRA strike began. Production shut down for over four months. I wasn’t able to make it because of one helluva week with doctor’s appointments and recovering from the worst stomach bug (probably from food poisoning) in over five years.
Yet, Twisters had Glen Powell, the It Man of the hour, along with Daisy Edgar-jones and Anthony Ramos. Yet, neither character really seems to be as believable. Most of them make Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s impersonation of Jack Black’s career ever since he played that fat white Jamaica guy look sedated. With the Internet, social media and live-streams, they’re all hootering and hollering as they drive into huge funnel clouds unaware of the imminent danger involved.
And that’s the problem. Despite issues with the first movie, you could sense there was some terror in how the storm cause so much destruction. Any coach or drill sergeant will tell you never to underestimate your opponent. In 2016, I found myself in a storm that came out of nowhere on a highway outside of Tulsa. You literally can’t see five feet in front of the car and you just hope no other motorist rams into you as you sit on the side of the road waiting for it to pass. I end up turning around and driving the other direction taking shelter in a bay area at a self-serve carwash.
Not only do the characters in this movie not fear the paths of destructions coming their way, all physics are thrown out the window. Yet the windows don’t break unless it’s needed for the convenience of the plot. Wind blowing debris should knock every window out in their huge pick-up trucks but it doesn’t.
The tornadoes and twisters we see lack the thrill and amazement of the first movie. It may be because there’s so much we’ve seen on the Internet and YouTube that the tornadoes just come and go without much excitement. Powell does what he can with Tyler Owens, a storm chaser from Arkansas, who has become an Internet personality. Yet, I think it’s really for him to play up himbo in cowboy attire persona. But Ramos doesn’t really impress me as Javi, a friend of Kate Carter (Edgar-Jones), who used to be on a storm chasing team. In a prologue that proves why you should go underneath overpasses to hide, Kate is the only one who survives and her boyfriend also dies.
Five years later, she has moved to New York City where she works for NOAA and Javi has gotten some major corporate endorsements. As a huge storm cell is forecast to hit central Oklahoma, Kate goes back to work on Javi’s team. Yes, this time, the twist is the protagonist is working for the “evil corporate sponsors” while Tyler and his motley crew are the true deal of people who dress like they’re going to a rock concert circa 2000. However, all that’s on the soundtrack is Bro-Country because that’s all people listen to non-stop in Oklahoma. At least we got some mean Van Hagar with “Human Beings” in Twister before David Lee Roth came back.
Even at two hours, I felt there were a lot more scenes to film but since the WGA strike was also on-going, they couldn’t work on the script so they just went with that they had. That’s why it’s never really clear on if Tyler and Kate are going to get together. Reportedly Steven Spielberg ordered a kiss between the two removed. But it’s very really clear if Javi likes her like that either. There’s also some subplot about Javi’s money man, Rigg (David Born), who is in full Texas tycoon attire, trying to pay off uninsured or underinsured homeowners that never really is explained.
The only real connection to the 1996 version is a throw-away line about the fictional Muskogee State College. In the first movie, a few of the characters, mostly notably Jeremy Davies wore shirts with the name on them.
I’m thinking when production started, they anticipated to be done by the end of July or August and spend 11-12 months working on things in post. However, both strikes hurt production. Rather than push things back to the Christmas holiday season or even wait until 2025, they went with what they had come Hell or high water. Even the climatic scene feels mediocre in comparison to the 1996 original. The effects look better than in the Sharknado movies but not much better.
Also, Maura Tierney has the thankless role of being Kate’s mother, Cathy for a few scenes. Yet nothing really happens except to play subtle matchmaker between Tyler and Kate. And the movie might have worked better had the two kissed.
I can’t help but think that Lee Isaac Chung, who directed the Oscar-winning Minari, might have been out of his element here. Not everyone is ready to handle a major big-budget movie. Just look at Chloe Zhao and Eternals.
I have a good friend who walked out of this movie saying she couldn’t keep watching with the absurdity of the physics. Maybe that’s why this one wasn’t this didn’t make as money as anticipated. You can only suspend your disbelief so much.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 