starring: glenn powell, daisy edgar-jones, anthony ramos, and harry hadden-paton

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REVIEWER: lyall carter

A retired tornado-chaser and meteorologist is persuaded to return to Oklahoma to work with a new team and new technologies.

A few days ago, Tom Cruise posted a grinning picture on Instagram alongside Glenn Powell at a screening of Twisters. The photo seemed to herald a passing of the torch, from one heavyweight, movie icon to an actor who has all the star qualities you could possibly ask for. If his turn in Anyone But You or Hit Man didn’t convince you, then Twisters most certainly will. With a megawatt smile and charisma to match, Powell just might be the brand spanking new blockbuster, movie star the film industry and movie goers have been waiting for. Despite a slow beginning, Twisters picks up considerably in its final act, heading towards a thundering, nail biting finale. Popcorn cinema at its finest.   

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Haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado, Kate Cooper gets lured back to the open plains by her friend, Javi, to test a groundbreaking new tracking system. She soon crosses paths with Tyler Owens, a charming but reckless social-media superstar who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures. As storm season intensifies, Kate, Tyler and their competing teams find themselves in a fight for their lives as multiple systems converge over central Oklahoma.

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At least at its beginning, Twisters narratively follows its 1996 predecessor as a tornado takes the lives of one of our protagonists' loved ones and then we follow a ragtag bunch of twister hunters, some for profit and some for the thrill of it all. 

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It's here that Twisters gets a little bogged down in exposition, especially for a film that only has a two hour run time. However, the characters feel well developed, kinda lived in, with Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell’s will-they-won't-they romance and chemistry packing an electric punch. The finale is one of the most intense, thunderous sequences that I’ve experienced in a cinema in a long while. Perfect summer blockbuster stuff. 

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Despite a slow beginning, Twisters picks up considerably in its final act, heading towards a thundering, nail biting finale. Popcorn cinema at its finest.