Twisters
I don't live in tornado alley, thank goodness, or in the part of the country turning into the new tornado alley, but we do get them here and I have been terrified of them for more than half a century. For me at least, they make a great movie bad guy, one that Hollywood has been using since The Wizard of Oz in 1939. The original Twister (1996), starring Helen Hunt and the great Bill Paxton blew me away (You know I had to do it.) and I had to be threatened with death to stop watching it when the weather turned bad. I had no idea there was a new movie with a very similar story until I saw a trailer a few months ago and I was uneasy with the fact that it's a good trailer. Inverse Law and all that. [Inverse Law of Movie Trailers: The better the trailer the worse the movie.]
This is the kind of film that should be seen in the theater because tornados are BIG and LOUD and throw enormous objects around like feathers, making them terrifying. Their threat is real, and the real life baddies are always the scariest. In this incarnation of the film, Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones, Where the Crawdads Sing) is trying to figure out a way to kill a tornado from the ground up. She and her team have Dorothy (a prop from the original film) set up to take readings, and they're also towing around barrels of Tornado Be Gone. She's the Wind Whisperer, but this time she misreads everything and leads her team into a life altering close encounter. Five years later she is talked out of hiding in tornado free New York City for a week of storm chasing. She meets brash, loud, and internet famous storm chaser Tyler (Glen Powell, Anyone but You, Top Gun: Maverick). Chaos ensues.
Even from this very brief introduction, you can see that the filmmakers, including director Lee Isaac Chung (Minari) have not completely abandoned an older film that still has a lot of fans. There are even a few callbacks to that film, like the shot of a mom and child tornado survivors hugging as the camera goes past, or the hero's feet flying up toward the twister as he desperately hangs onto a pipe. I'm pretty sure I saw the movie poster for the original film in the background of one shot, but my favorite is a memorable character. The stupid and pushy young man trying to check into a hotel while the world is blown away around him is Bill Paxton's son, playing the kind of scene his dad would have totally nailed. While the plot is similar to the original it isn't the same. Kate is preternaturally attuned to twisters, like the Bill Paxton character before her, and there are scenes reminiscent of the original like a dinner scene and an Audience Interruptus sequence that, like the original film, went on a tad too long. Yes, yes, they did remake the "Cow!" joke, with a different barnyard animal. Cow was funnier, but I appreciated the attempt.
Technology is updated, both in the storyline and in the special effects used to create deadly wind. The tornados look and feel even more up close and dangerous than they did thirty years ago. Combined with a great thriller score and sound effects, and you have a movie that starts off with a terrifying sequence and gets super tense more than a couple of times. Everything seems to be bigger this time around, even to the debris. Who needs a barn full of scythes when you can dismantle and fly wind turbines?
I found the dialogue in the original film its weakest aspect, but this time around it's the characters I found lacking. Everyone put in a big effort, but there just wasn't the magical feel of Paxton and Hunt. I did like some character choices that made it a feel good film, essentially. When Kate and Tyler meet it's set up to be some contentious moment, but they smoothly learned to work together with minimal snark and I liked their chemistry. I was very taken with the small role of the British reporter. They don't have tornados in England, so his first encounter terror rang true. By the end he takes heroic action and I loved it.
This is a really fun and thrilling movie that isn't a remake or sequel to the 1996 original. There are loving nods and callbacks to the original, but this is its own film. Technology both in storyline and film creation has been updated to very good effect, and music and sound effects greatly enhance the tension from one of films oldest and scariest movie monsters. I highly recommend seeing this in the theater, because bigger is better this time around.
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CFR: In Addition
I shall begin this review by saying no Dodge Rams were destroyed in the making of this movie. In fact, most of the trucks I saw in the movie were Dodge Rams. As Cranky's sweetheart pointed out, this movie was a vindication of the Dodge Ram.
Wait, what?
What are you talking about, CFR?
Well see I never liked the first Twister as much as other people because, well ok several reasons, but the big one: THEY DESTROYED A BEAUTIFUL NEW DODGE RAM!! They let that magnificent piece of civilization get sucked into a tornado. I don't care that it was for science! Couldn't they have used a wrecker?
Why do I care about that? Well my Dad LOVED trucks - he was an engineer. His dream truck was a Dodge Ram and he finally got one. OMG. It was breath-taking. It was magnificent. And on a few occasions I got to drive this divine vehicle.
I too LOVED that truck! I even created a series of commericals for the Dodge Ram, showing that it was superior to even space ships and was the pinnacle of Western Civilization design!
That is why I can never forgive Twister. They destroyed a Dodge Ram. Oh and the hero's fiance wasn't asked how she would feel about losing her truck or rather her half of the truck! RUDE!
RIP, Twister Truck.
A magnificent red Dodge Ram extended cab.
Now for my thoughts on Twisters.
I really liked it! First, obviously, there were lots of Dodge Rams that were not sacrificed. Made me happy. Plus they were beautiful and it was fun to enjoy their gorgeousness on the screen. (Yes, I am still a fan and would own one if they made a hybrid version.)
What I also really liked about the movie, was a diverse cast, and cool relationships of equality and respect between the men and women. Cranky has touched on that. It was nice that the hero didn't get all pushy with the heroine. In fact, he honored her intelligence and helped her succeed. Very nice touch. In the end they were all equal partners and it was good. Very good. It made me very happy.
Personally, I could never chase tornados. But it sure did make for a fun movie. I would see this again.
And not just for the Dodge Rams.
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