A satisfying re-quel to be seen on the big screen

Twisters is now available to purchase ($24.99) or rent ($19.99) on video-on-demand platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Google Play, and YouTube TV. For those who are willing to wait, Twisters will eventually be available to stream on Peacock before the end of the year. A specific release date has yet to be announced, but we’d guess the film will be released on this platform sometime around October 2024, when the DVD/Blu-Ray is also expected to hit stores.

So is this new film worth paying extra to stream? Here’s our review:

“Sometimes the old ways are the best ways.”

A nostalgia trip you’ll wanna take

Photo: Universal Pictures

This line in the first act of new film Twisters, delivered with appropriate gravitas by Glen Powell, in many ways encapsulates the entire ethos of this film. In the scene, Powell’s character is referring to the way Daisy Edgar-Jones’ character Kate Carter inexplicably predicts the weather by watching a dandelion seed fall to the ground. However, as an audience member, at that moment I felt like Powell was speaking to me directly, telling me that this film was going to be an old school actioner, the kind that don’t really get made anymore, and I was in for a fun time, the likes of which seem to have been missing from the multiplex in recent years

I was intrigued by the thought.

As someone who grew up loving the original Twister (and subsequently went on the Twister: Ride it Out attraction at Universal Studios Florida over 100 times, including once on its very last day of operation in 2015), this film has been on my radar (no pun intended) for quite some time. The personal stakes were high, as I knew I didn’t want to just watch a movie that just re-tread the same ground as the first Twister. But I didn’t want anything too different either. Fortunately, as a remake/sequel (or a re-quel, as they’re now widely called) Twisters gets the balance between the new and familiar mostly right.

Recommended

Twisters

Studio

Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures

Run Time

2h 2m

Director

Lee Isaac Chung

Starring

Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos

In theatres

July 19, 2024

Pros

• Pulse-pounding action scenes that will keep viewers at the edge of their seats
• Great performances from Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell
• A few fun references to the original film

Cons

• The film is a little too safe at times, shying away from bigger themes

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Release date, rating, and runtime

Twisters is now showing in theaters

I caught Twisters on its US opening night, July 18, 2024, in Florida. The film ran for 2 hours and 2 minutes and carries a PG-13 rating. It is now streaming on major VOD platforms.

Reimagining the disaster for 2024

Twisters is the same, but different

The beginning of Twisters has a lot in common with the original Twister. Much like Helen Hunt’s character in the ’90s movie, main character Kate experiences an unthinkable tragedy right at the beginning of the film which gives her severe trauma and PTSD. However, unlike Hunt’s character, who develops an obsession with tornado research following her own personal tragedy, Kate blames herself for what happened and runs away from her past, trading in the windy wheat fields of Oklahoma for the skyscrapers of New York City, where she finds a job as a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

However, when her old friend Javi (played by Anthony Ramos), the only other survivor from this incident, shows up at her office asking for help with a research project for his new company, Kate feels like she can’t refuse, reluctantly agreeing to return to Oklahoma for a week, with the promise that her assistance will give scientists the data they need to better understand tornadoes and ultimately, save lives.

It is here that we meet Glen Powell’s electric Tyler Owens, an Arkansas-based YouTuber who has amassed a million followers online with his storm-based livestreams. Owens pulls up with a rag-tag crew of videographers, science enthusiasts, a drone operator, and dozens of fans who seemingly follow him around the country as he chases storms. Kate is instantly unimpressed by Tyler’s country swagger and outlandish antics (he shoots fireworks into a tornado in one scene) and a rivalry quickly forms between the pair. And if you’ve ever seen a Hallmark Channel original movie, you know exactly where that particular plot thread is going.

And honestly, that predictability works well here, as a lot of the film’s focus is smartly on the action. Twisters has some truly nail-biting disaster scenes that capture the awe-inspiring power of one of nature’s deadliest forces. Buildings, wind turbines, a motel, and even a movie theater are all ripped up to great effect here, and deft camerawork and smart sound design are key to pulling viewers into the action.

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Verdict: Stream it!

Deeper themes are touched on, but never fully delved into

Twisters

Ultimately, what separates a good disaster movie from a great one isn’t the high-tech special effects or thrilling acting performances, but the way disaster stories use a weather event, an alien invasion or a giant monster to delve into deeper themes. Godzilla: Minus One is a good example of a recent disaster movie that went beyond your typical paint-by-numbers disaster story, enrapturing audiences with a moving story about a Japanese World War II pilot struggling to move on from the trauma he experienced during and immediately following the war. By using the monster as a metaphor for something deeper, this film (and others like it) are able to push past being just a standard run-of-the-mill monster movie and become something more.

Twisters almost gets there, but not quite. Larger themes like the effects of lingering trauma and disaster profiteering are touched on briefly, but never fully addressed in a meaningful way, which is a big missed opportunity. In its quest to play things as safely as possible, Twisters loses out on becoming something more than just a fun time at the movies, which is a shame, but definitely not a dealbreaker.

With tense action setpieces, strong performances from leads Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones, and some clever nods to the original Twister film, Twisters is definitely a re-quel that works. It won’t change your life, but it’ll definitely have you grinning from ear to ear, even as destruction rains down on our heroes, which is what summer movies should all strive for. This movie is definitely worth the stream!

Recommended

Twisters

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