Lee Isaac Chung's Twisters is the hit movie of the summer led by Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones. 2024 has got its four-quadrant hit like Barbie was in 2023, but the comparisons to Greta Gerwig's movie do not end there.
There are several takeaways: this is how you do a legacy sequel, and Chung is good at filmmaking. After all, Chung's last movie, Minari, was the best of the year.
With Twisters, Chung leaps to blockbuster filmmaking and succeeds. It is shot extraordinarily well (tentpole movie or not), and Powell and Edgar-Jones further solidify their star power.
When Gerwig made Barbie, she was coming off Lady Bird and Little Women. The latter was a significant jump for the director, but Barbie was a new game. Like Gerwig, Chung brings a special touch to Twisters that carries it beyond wanting to watch Powell chase tornadoes.
Blockbuster filmmaking and big corporations have taken over Hollywood. Lee Isaac Chung is determined to prove that good movies can still be made with nine-figure budgets. Twisters is more than a movie about tornadoes — it is about redemption and people being more than what meets the eye.
Admittedly, there are some flaws. The pacing suffers in the middle because of Edgar-Jones' subplot, but you won't find a better spectacle in theaters this summer.
Twisters review
The movie begins with Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones), who is studying for her PhD. She creates a new system that she believes could stop tornadoes.
So, naturally, she takes it into the field with the help of her crew: Javi (Anthony Ramos), Praveen (Nik Dodani), Addy (Kiernan Shipka), and her boyfriend Jeb (Daryl McCormack).
It does not work, though, and this tornado ends in tragedy, leading to Kate taking a job in New York City as a meteorologist.
“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in”
Javi visits Kate five years later. After giving him the New York City experience — a taxi driver yells at them to “get their asses out of the street” to nail home that this is New York — Kate gets roped back into storm chasing.
Javi, who now works for a big company, promises that they can make a difference. He lures her back to Oklahoma, where Javi's crew (which includes Superman actor David Corenswet) are slow to welcome her.
At the same time, they meet a “hillbilly with a YouTube,” Tyler Owens (Glen Powell). The obnoxious influencer livestreams his storm chases and puts his face on a T-shirt. It is almost as if Logan Paul took over Oklahoma.
A budding rivalry
Tyler's presence results in a rivalry between his crew and Kate's. Their interactions, which feel straight out of a rom-com, carry Twisters.
The first few storm chases where Tyler and Kate compete are when Twisters is at its best. Country music from Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, and Lainey Wilson blare as the two race for the best positioning.
Kate, still suffering from her trauma, takes a while to get back into it. Edgar-Jones brings sensitivity to the part similar to her work in Where the Crawdads Sing. There is something about the small-town girl that Edgar-Jones does very well.
That makes Powell a perfect counterpart. The extraverted presence is perhaps more memorable, but the two are operating on juxtaposed levels.
Where their relationship goes is predictable, but there are some twists and turns along the way. Perhaps Tyler Owens is more than just a “hillbilly with a YouTube,” just like Javi's company may be up to something darker than they let on.
Glen Powell, superstar
Like it or not, Glen Powell has become Hollywood's next leading man. Someday, another rising star will dethrone him. But his prime is as fun as it gets.
In 2024 alone, Powell has gone from a hitman to a storm chaser. Powell exudes charm and charisma in these movies that he couldn't in the Sydney Sweeney-led Anyone but You.
His cool, calm, and collectedness is similar to Matthew McConaughey in his prime. It is not a secret that Powell is seeing a McConaughey-like rise. Twisters allows him to be an overzealous jerk with a good heart.
Muddled emotional subplot
While the main event of Twisters is the tornadoes, Kate's story brings a grounded subplot to the movie. After the traumatic events that open the movie, she leaves Oklahoma and rarely calls.
Upon returning, Kate attempts to reconnect with the place she once called her home. These scenes are Lee Isaac Chung-coded, as Minari was the closest thing to a live-action Studio Ghibli movie with its naturalistic themes, but they somewhat bog down the pacing of the story.
They are necessary, but with an under-two-hour runtime, there are limitations. Edgar-Jones and Powell do their best in these scenes, which at times feel like a different movie than Twisters.
A well-shot blockbuster
Captain America: Brave New World's trailer is a reminder of how awful blockbusters can look. Twisters does not have that problem. From the visual effects to the sound design, it is an immersive experience (and not just because there was a tornado close to my home after the screening).
Like Barbie, the world feels fleshed out. Of course, Chung's movie benefits from being set in the real world, whereas most of Gerwig's movie takes place in Barbie Land. In both cases, the worlds in which the films take place feel tangible.
Maybe seeing Twisters in Dolby was a privilege that enhanced the experience — every blown leaf is heard. But, visually, it is a stunning feat of filmmaking.
Unlike recent tornado movies like Into the Storm, Twisters looks real. Moments when Tyler drives into the eye of the tornado or when Kate and Tyler narrowly escape by hiding in an in-ground pool put you on the edge of your seat. Danger hardly exists in the MCU, so seeing main characters in peril is refreshing.
Should you watch Twisters?
Twisters is the quintessential summertime movie paired with slushies and popcorn. Wherever the drama does not succeed, the movie's spectacle makes up for it. Glen Powell continues cementing himself as a top star in Hollywood, and Daisy Edgar-Jones gives a touching performance.
Maybe Hollywood needs to explore more sequels like Twisters. It does not ask you to remember the lore of Twister, nor does it treat itself as an advertisement for an impending sequel or prequel.
Lee Isaac Chung has proven himself as one of the best filmmakers. Twisters is hardly as emotional as Minari, but it has a Southern charm that he brings to the table.
Twisters has something to say about passionate people selling their souls to corporations beneath the storm chases. Chung successfully disproves that notion with Twisters.
Grade: B+
Twisters will be released on July 19.
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