Can we stop a force of nature in its tracks with chemistry? Probably not. Can a green flag such as Glen Powell’s character come out of Arkansas? Absolutely not. However, a movie can be stupidly fun despite the frankly improbable plot with a killer soundtrack, great characters and great directing. “Twisters” is a remake of the 1996 film “Twister” and is almost better than the original.
Following a young meteorologist with a special gift for predicting extreme weather who is traumatized by a near-death experience with a tornado, “Twisters” sees her return with an old friend and new frenemies to attempt to use new technology to help with an extreme tornado outbreak in Oklahoma. It follows similar beats to the original, but with slight deviations. Jo, the protagonist from the original, becomes obsessed with tornados after her traumatic encounter as a child. Kate, on the other hand, develops PTSD and completely closes herself off from anything to do with Oklahoma until her old friend Javi pulls her back in.
Besides plot elements and events, the characters are entirely different than the original. They have different names, backgrounds, motives, and storylines. Honestly, I liked this directing choice because it made the film feel more authentic. Sure it was around the same plot, but the director chose to explore how new characters would interact and advance through the events of the film. It made the film feel like an actual movie, not some cash grab like some recent movies. While I enjoyed this remake more than the original, I appreciated how it didn’t try to mimic it entirely and made an actual movie based around the idea of the original.
The visuals and sound design are gorgeous in the way fitting of a natural disaster we’re still unsure of how they form. One of my favorite aspects is how we hear the same wind howls that we hear with our first tornado throughout the movie. Not only is it reflective of how it haunts Kate, but it reminds the audience of it as well. The tornados are horrifyingly beautiful to look at. Their design is awe-inspiring and they seem to stalk over the landscape, seemingly calm until the characters get too close and they thrash the landscape underneath them. The CGI and special effects is definitely a step up from the original and I felt like the remake made the tornados more realistic. The original had a lot of little inconsistencies, like it being sunny when there’s supposed to be a massive storm. I felt that “Twisters” invested time and money into making the storm scenes very realistic and it paid off!
The soundtrack is fantastic as well. Country stars such as Luke Combs and Miranda Lambert provided several country anthem that compliment the main characters whilst making the setting more fun and authentic. “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” has been stuck in my head for days, and definitely will be one of my songs of the summer.
Overall, “Twisters” is a must-watch this summer. It’s a remake that feels original and doesn’t take itself too seriously. I highly recommend seeing it in theaters for the full experience during these last few weeks of summer.
