Twisters ★★★

THE new action/disaster film Twisters is billed as a ‘stand-alone sequel’ to 1996’s Twister.

It’s actually a remake, but you can trade off the original’s success and describe it as something else because it has different characters and a slightly different story.

Either way, 2024’s Twisters is an exciting, action-packed couple of hours joining tornado-chasers in mid-west America.

Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell measure up pretty well against the 1996 film’s leads Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton.

In the original, the lead characters were about to officially divorce but teamed up again in their pursuit of developing an early warning weather system.

In the new version the stakes were upped significantly with Edgar-Jones character Kate Cooper trying to develop a way of stopping tornados on their destructive paths.

How she plans to do this is kind of explained in the film, but whether it’s actually based on any real science, research and experience I’m not so sure.

But it does involve having to get as close as you can to the centre of a terrifying tornado, providing most of the film’s most exciting sequences.

All the supporting characters are fine, but Edgar Jones’ Kate and Powell’s larger-than-life, Youtube starring and self-proclaimed ‘Tornado Wrangler’ cowboy are front and centre and give the film its soul.

I particularly liked the fact that the trajectory of their relationship isn’t what you expect and there is a great twist (pardon the pun) on the usual airport romantic scene.

The original film was an enjoyable and highly-successful action adventure, but isn’t a classic. This new version holds up well against it.

Watched at the cinema.