It’s sure been a long time since the first Twister film. That one was a classic and people still know it very well to this day. The question is, can this one achieve the same living legacy? I doubt it, I think it’s a little harder to do that with how many films are out nowadays with so many options to watch them but I would say they did a good job with this one and I actually liked it more than the first Twister. This film can perhaps be a bit obvious with the twists at times but it doesn’t take away from the fun experience overall.

The movie starts off with Kate and her crew deciding to take down a tornado. She has an idea on how to shut them down from the inside but it doesn’t work out and most of them end up dying. This includes her boyfriend who she was really close with and will have a hard time continuing without. As a result, she left the business and is more of a tornado consultant now. One day she is tracked down by the last surviving member, Javi. He is bringing in a new team and they’re getting data on the tornadoes. Kate is skeptical about going back in but reluctantly agrees. Will they be able to make a difference this time?

It’s easy to see why Kate wouldn’t want to get back into the field. I sure wouldn’t want to get back out there after nearly dying and watching everyone else get blown away. It’s not the kind of work that you can do without being 100% committed either. For that reason she is blinded a bit in the beginning and doesn’t really ask too many questions about what they’re doing. Honestly she’s not the nosy type at all because I would have been googling things immediately. An old friend shows up with some kind of big project? Yeah sounds like a pyramid scheme if I’ve ever seen one.

We’re also introduced to the rival Tornado Wranglers group who were a lot of fun. I immediately liked them as soon as they showed up. These guys are loud and in charge as they take the risks and make a lot of money off of livestreaming. I think you’re supposed to find them off putting at first before the film goes into this but I just love confidence. So I was on board right from the jump and why wouldn’t I be? The main characters take everything so seriously while these guys are just having a great time. It’s hard to turn that down.

Tyler is the leader there and he gets a lot of screen time. He trades banter with Kate right away and the two of them go back and forth a whole lot. Naturally this is Hollywood so you’re expecting a romance and that is the weakest part of the film. It’s just too sudden and I don’t buy it. The film also seemed to be hinting at Javi being in love with Kate too but it doesn’t fully go with that storyline which was a good idea. Even if he did like her, not saying anything was the heroic response there.

What I like about Tyler is that he isn’t your generic kind of loudmouth. Instead he knows his stuff and is actually quite the genius. The film did good to avoid the obvious tropes there and his whole crew was solid. They weren’t as stuffy as Javi’s crew and there is something to be said about staying relaxed in tight situations. It’s not like Javi’s group was bad or anything like that but you can tell that it would be a much more stressful environment.

By the end of the film, things do start to get a little exaggerated as the story beats you over the head with who the bad guys are. I would have appreciated a little more nuance there but nonetheless the film has enough good plots to keep it going well. The pacing is smooth and the effects are really solid. It was definitely great seeing the tornadoes up close and we got some great disaster scenes. That tends to go without saying but it does take a lot of effort.

A film like this lives or dies on the characters though because you have to care about them beyond just following the disasters. The film succeeds on that as I liked Tyler and Kate. I never quite warmed up to Javi but you can’t win them all. The film’s technology approach was also good to show how much progress we have made in tornadoes over the years. It’s an area that I expect we will never fully master but every improvement certainly goes a long way.

This is a very uplifting kind of movie. The characters go through their hardships and everything but it’s all about overcoming them. In that way this feels like a very classic kind of film that’s not trying to be too fancy or get too ambitious. This helps the movie really feel like a true successor to the first Twister film. We don’t even have a true villain who’s trying to blow everyone up or anything like that and the film still feels like a good thriller all the way.

Overall, Twisters is a pretty fun film. It’s easy to tease the whole premise of there being two twisters this time around but it is a well crafted movie. It can be very predictable at times and I think it could treat the audience with a bit more respect in terms of being less obvious but at the end of the day it is a movie that makes for a good watch. It has a lot of replay value and you’re never bored at any point during the story. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes some quality excitement and there is definitely room for a sequel with how it ends.

Overall 7/10