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James Mottram

3/5 stars
Is it a remake? Is it a sequel? Does it even matter?
Twisters follows on from the 1996 film Twister, which dealt with a group of tornado chasers – renegade meteorologists who dangerously pursue these devastating natural phenomena.
Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, in his first film since the Oscar-winning Minari, Twisters does not bother with any spurious links to the original characters; it is simply the same idea repackaged.


Scripted by Mark L. Smith (The Revenant), Twisters does start in dramatic fashion, as student meteorologist Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her posse get caught by one almighty tornado. Three friends are tragically killed, with only Kate and fellow storm chaser Javi (Anthony Ramos) left alive.
Five years on, Javi convinces a reluctant Kate to come and join his outfit Storm Pro to test some new tracking equipment.
Soon enough, in Oklahoma, Kate crosses paths with “cowboy scientist” Tyler Owens (Glen Powell), a social-media-savvy storm chaser who even has his own catchphrase (“If you feel it, chase it”).
He may be reckless – letting fireworks off into the storms – but he cares about the people whose homes are being destroyed. “Sometimes the old ways are better than the new,” he says, typical of his Deep South homespun wisdom.

While Kate and Tyler invariably are initially wary of each other, the script does not ram their romantic potential too far down audience throats. But there is not much else to Twisters either, beyond the dizzying set pieces as cars and houses get ripped up and tossed aside.
Admittedly, the visual effects are splendid, notably in one scene where a rodeo arena gets torn apart and luckless bystanders get whirled away by the storms.
Twisters also benefits from Glen Powell. The actor who matched Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick and more recently starred in Richard Linklater’s Hit Man has such an easy-going aura that he makes for the perfect leading man, even with the paper-thin characterisation he is given here.
Edgar-Jones (Normal People) also partners well with Powell, showing the right blend of vulnerability and action-heroine chops.

While the final act includes some daring stunt work, including one impressive sequence involving a water tower, Twisters does not really come packed with an explosive conclusion. Which, given the way the film starts, feels like a real missed opportunity.
It is a watchable blockbuster if all you want to do is leave your brain in neutral. If it is substance you are looking for, you will need to look elsewhere.
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American cinema

Twisters movie review: Twister repackaged with better visual effects – and Glen Powell

(From left) Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos and Glen Powell in a still from Twisters (category IIA), directed by Lee Isaac Chung. Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon

Daisy Edgar-Jones in a still from Twisters. Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon

A still from Twisters, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.

Twisters director Lee Isaac Chung on making  tornado film sequel with Glen Powell ‘personal’

Lee Isaac Chung on the set of Twisters. Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon

Lee Isaac Chung with Daisy Edgar-Jones on the set of Twisters. The Korean-American director talks about drawing on his experiences with extreme weather in the American Midwest to make the summer blockbuster. Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon


Chung on the set of Twisters. Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon

Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell in a still from Twisters.

Powell and Chung on the set of Twisters. Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon

A still from Twisters, for which Chung channelled some of his experiences growing up around extreme weather in the American Midwest.

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(From left) Channing Tatum as launch director Cole Davis, Woody Harrelson as government operative Moe Berkus and Scarlett Johansson as advertising executive Kelly Jones in a still from Fly Me to the Moon.

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Starring an excellent Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones, Twisters has great stunts and special effects but lacks substance


Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones lead Twisters, a remake of the 1996 original, with amazing special effects and stunts that make it very watchable, if lacking in substance.


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An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


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.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Starring an excellent Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones, Twisters has great stunts and special effects but lacks substance

Starring an excellent Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones, Twisters has great stunts and special effects but lacks substance