Review of Twisters: Taming the Tornado

Earning the label “movie of the summer,” Twisters has swept into the theaters and blown away the box office with $80.5 million in its opening weekend. Starring Glen Powell alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones, the two dive into the world of tornadoes and storm-chasing to figure out how to document these natural disasters. Dangerous storm systems are converging on Oklahoma, so strap in for a wild ride.

Check out our review of Twisters and remember spoilers ahead!

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Twisters Review – Breaking Down Plot, Setting, Characters

Plot

Twisters opens with Kate and her friends trying to use the Dorothy technology combined with a chemical agent to disrupt and hopefully stop a tornado in its tracks. Unfortunately, their measurements are wrong, and Kate suffers unimaginable loss.

Fast-forward five years later to the present, Kate is living in New York working for a weather service. After learning about a large amount of storms coming into the Oklahoma region and getting a surprise visit from an old friend Javi, she decides to head back to Tornado Alley to help track tornadoes.

This is where the action picks up as Kate and Javi’s team meet Tyler, the leader of a group of storm chasers famous for their YouTube videos. As the two teams battle against each other to find the best tornadoes, they begin to realize hidden details about each other, leading to Kate and Tyler joining forces to try and disrupt a tornado once and for all.

The plot was super fun to watch, and had me nearly on the edge of my seat the whole time. Science fans will surely love all the technology and terminology in the film, but anyone will appreciate the deadly intensity of tornadoes whipping through towns, and the possibility to try and stop it.

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Setting

Oklahoma is home to several country stars, but its most important attribute is the tornadoes sweeping across the countryside. Also known as Tornado Alley, this is where the main action takes place throughout the film. The settings all felt authentic, especially since the crew went down and filmed most of the scenes in Oklahoma. It lended another layer to the film that can be missed due to filming in other locations.

It’s so interesting to see another part of the United States where you don’t live or haven’t visited, and I think I can speak for all of us by saying Oklahoma has been added to a couple of bucket lists. Not only are the tornadoes something to be ogled, but the landscape is quite gorgeous with undulating wheat fields and farmhouses seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

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Characters

The characters really carried this movie for me, bringing to life several different reasons why to chase tornadoes and gather data from the natural phenomena, and adding some much-needed drama. Our two main characters are Kate and Tyler, who begin their journey as “enemies” fighting for the best tornadoes. Kate is centered on the science and trying to find the best way to analyze the tornadoes, while Tyler at first seems to just be playing around for more views.

Another integral character is Javi, the other survivor from Kate’s past experience with a tornado who brings her down to Oklahoma in the first place. He has a deep connection with Kate, possibly even a love interest, but values her expertise with reading tornadoes above all else. Working with Storm Par, Javi gets access to invaluable technology, but it comes at a cost Kate is unaware of at the beginning.

Of course, you also have the teams for both Kate and Tyler, with vastly different backgrounds. While Kate and Javi’s team is full of PhDs and technical geniuses, Tyler has a “rag-tag” group of people all focused on chasing tornadoes for their own reasons. It’s a great balance to show the drastically different people deciding to chase tornadoes for a living.

My favorite character was Kate, with Tyler being a close second. She could read the tornadoes like nobody else, and continued to face her fears even though it took her friends away. I loved her tenacity in the face of danger, her actions towards Tyler, and her final “superhero” moment saving Reno’s townspeople from being swept away in a tornado. Daisy Edgar-Jones is an actress to watch out for, especially with her past performance in Where the Crawdads Sing.

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Twister 1996 vs. Twisters 2024

The 1996 and 2024 films have strong points and capture the essence and danger of tornadoes as they tear through Oklahoma. I think they both have strong suits and drawbacks, but if I were to choose one film, I would lean a little more towards the 2024 version.

The CGI is better in the 2024 film, which is not necessarily a downside to the 1996 film as they didn’t have that technology yet. The tornadoes look more realistic and scary and set Twisters apart from other natural disaster films.

As for storylines, I like both equally. The 1996 version focuses on competing team members trying to launch similar technology to change the storm-chasing field. The 2024 version focuses on cataloging a tornado but also trying to stop it, and the competing groups are after different goals (money vs. science). They both have enough emotional complexity within the characters and action to keep you focused on the screen.

Is Twisters 2024 a Remake?

While some may think Twisters is a remake, the 2024 film was made to be a standalone sequel to the 1996 original. This means that fans can watch the 2024 film and understand it without needing the 1996 version. I personally watched the 2024 film before the original, and I understood everything that was going on. Of course, you’ll get more connections if you watch both films, such as the Dorothy technology or the caravans of campers and vans following each other. But the main idea is fans can watch Twisters without watching anything beforehand.

Prominent Actors in Twisters

Several prominent actors appear in Twisters, even if they are just smaller parts. These are a few that appear the most in the film, and other movies they appear in:

• Glen Powell (Tyler Owens) – Hit Man, Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You
• Daisy Edgar-Jones (Kate Cooper) – Where the Crawdads Sing, Fresh, Normal People
• Anthony Ramos (Javi) – Hamilton, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, In the Heights
• Brandon Perea (Boone) – Nope, American Insurrection, The OA
• David Corenswet (Scott) – Pearl, Lady in the Lake, Superman (2025)
• Katy M. O’Brien (Dani) – Love Lies Bleeding, The Mandalorian, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
• Sasha Lane (Lilly) – The Crowded Room, Conversations with Friends, American Honey
• Tunde Adebimpe (Dexter) – Spider-Man: Homecoming, Ultrasound, Jump Tomorrow
• Daryl McCormack (Jeb) – Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, The Lesson, The Woman in the Wall
• Kiernan Shipka (Addy) – Longlegs, Totally Killer, The Silence

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Final Thoughts

Overall, I think this movie is a smash-hit, and a perfect standalone sequel to the 1996 Twister. It has action, memorable characters, and just enough chaos to keep you waiting for more. I would even go so far as to say this movie is the film of the summer, even with Deadpool and Wolverine coming out soon. It’s opening weekend at the box office pulled in over $80 million, and I cannot wait to see how successful the film is by the end of its theatre run.

If you haven’t yet, go out and watch the movie. If you have, make another trip to the theater, because that’s where I will be headed too.