Twisters review: 'warm-blooded' film explores dangerous weather
The film, focusing on 'tornado wranglers', stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell

Jan de Bont's "Twister" (1996) was a diverting "summer thrill ride", said Robbie Collin in The Telegraph. Now we have a stand-alone sequel, directed by Lee Isaac Chung (Minari), and a film that could have been a "faintly desperate revival of an ageing blockbuster brand" turns out to be vastly better than the original. I am happy to report that "Twisters" is a "wholehearted, warm-blooded, meticulously crafted good time".
Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Kate Cooper, a meteorologist who is researching tornadoes in Oklahoma when one of them turns on her and her team, killing three of them. Five years on, her fellow survivor, Javi (Anthony Ramos), persuades her to come out of semi-retirement, and return to Oklahoma to monitor an especially virulent tornado season for the dodgy estate agency he is working for. But they're not the only storm chasers in town: Tyler (Glen Powell), a swaggering "tornado wrangler" with a million followers on YouTube, has also arrived to capitalise on the season. The film's formula is simple and winning: "everyday heroes you can't help but root for", enjoyable supporting turns (including from "Downton Abbey"'s Harry Hadden-Paton), and "light-touch direction" that "foregrounds" the human experience.
"Twisters" "does what it says on the tin, which is subject you to extremely bad weather over and over", said Deborah Ross in The Spectator. You may feel that "once you've seen one big storm, you've seen them all", but the film "never lets you off the hook, and is so furiously and incessantly loud that a doze is impossible. God knows I tried."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Well, "I liked the original a lot" and I enjoyed this follow-up too, said Matthew Bond in The Mail on Sunday. "Genuinely spectacular", and built around a "well-developed script", this is "classy" popcorn fare.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Law firms: Caving to White House pressure
Feature Trump targets major law firms tied to his past investigations
By The Week US Published
-
Venezuelan deportees: Locked up for tattoos?
Feature A former pro soccer player was deported after U.S. authorities claimed his tattoo proved he belonged to a Venezuelan gang
By The Week US Published
-
Saving the post office
Feature The U.S. Postal Service is facing mounting losses and growing calls for privatization. Can it survive?
By The Week US Published
-
Following the Tea Horse Road in China
The Week Recommends This network of roads and trails served as vital trading routes
By The Week UK Published
-
Roast lamb shoulder with ginger and fresh turmeric recipe
The Week Recommends Succulent and tender and falls off the bone with ease
By The Week UK Published
-
Adolescence and the toxic online world: what's the solution?
Talking Point The hit Netflix show is a window into the manosphere, red pills and incels
By The Week Staff Published
-
Snow White: Disney's 'earnest effort to meet an impossible brief'
Talking Point Live-action remake of Disney classic is not the disaster it could have been – but where's the personality?
By The Week UK Published
-
Don McCullin picks his favourite books
The Week Recommends The photojournalist shares works by Daniel Defoe, Lesley Blanch and Roland Philipps
By The Week UK Published
-
6 breathtaking homes in capital cities
Feature Featuring a glass conservatory in Atlanta and a loft library in Boston
By The Week US Published
-
Playhouse Creatures: 'dream-like' play is 'lively, funny and sharp-witted'
Anna Chancellor offers a 'glinting performance' alongside a 'strong' supporting cast
By The Week UK Published
-
The CIA Book Club: 'entertaining and vivid' book explores a huge Cold War secret
The Week Recommends 'Gripping' narrative explores a covert smuggling operation across the Iron Curtain
By The Week UK Published