Honestly, I’ve never had any fear of tornados. I mean, I live in Singapore. We don’t get tornados (famous last words). Oh wait, but we did get a landspout in 2023, and in 2019. Okay I take it back, we do get (tiny) tornados.
Which is all the more terrifying because I did develop mild fear of tornados after watching Twisters and the only reassurance I had was that we don’t get tornados in Singapore, which I have sort of disproven in the earlier paragraph.
So yes, while Twisters isn’t scary in the jump scares sense, it’s scary in the way it depicts tornados – and the horror and damage that can result from it.
Synopsis
Twisters is a disaster film that’s a sequel to 1996’s Twister. It revolves around a meteorologist who is haunted by her past trauma with tornados. But when she gets called back into the field by an old friend, she finds herself having to come to terms with her past – especially when lives are at stake.
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Writers: Mark L. Smith (screenplay), Joseph Kosinski (story)
Cast:
- Daisy Edgar-Jones (Kate Cooper)
- Glen Powell (Tyler Owens)
- Anthony Ramos (Javi)
- Brandon Perea (Boone)
- Maura Tierney (Cathy)
- Harry Hadden-Paton (Ben)
- Sasha Lane (Lilly)
Running time: 122 minutes
Feels like a theme park ride in a cinema
Twisters delivers on the action – which is to give the audience a visceral and emotional experience of tornados. And given that we’re living in the era of 3D and 4D experiences, the fact that Twisters manages to recreate this kind of terror simply with 2D cinematic visuals is a stunning feat – even surpassing all those films which use 3D to throw things at you (and hence, make you flinch). If you want that theme park experience without the hassle of queueing, then Twisters delivers – in the comfort of a cinema.
Storm chaser culture
Again, living in a relatively tornado-free region, I’ve never experienced storm chaser culture (nor did I realise that it was actually a thing). I’m sure that it”s dramatised for narrative reasons, but the film created curiosity in this field, and the educational factor of bringing this to my awareness is greatly appreciated.
A competent female protagonist
While many disaster and action films with a female protagonist typically give near-equal spotlight to a male protagonist, Twisters doesn’t. From the very beginning, Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is positioned as the key protagonist of the film. She’s front and centre, gets the lion’s share of the stunts and exposition, and is the main driver of the plot (rather than having it happen to her). She’s competent, courageous, and in the climax, she saves the day without assistance from any of the other male protagonists. It’s an admirable take on the character, and it pays off well.
Gives tornado trauma a face
Underlying all this is Kate’s trauma, which resulted from a disaster with a tornado. As with all real-life disaster films, there’s always a risk of ignoring the very real, very devastating effects on people, and to forget the victims who have to live through such disasters. Making Kate a survivor of such trauma, and acknowledging her pain goes a long way towards raising awareness of such trauma, and putting a face to the victims of these disasters.
A plot twist in a film about twisters
Writing-wise, what was impressive about Twisters was the fact that it had a relatively interesting plot with a twist (that comes halfway during the show), which explains its 122 minute run-time. I was genuinely curious about whether it could hold my attention with disaster scenes for more than two hours – and it did! Tornados aside, the plot was engaging enough to carry the story, and with it, the disaster set pieces which are the raison d’etre of the show.
Slightly contrived frequency of tornados
It’s a minor quibble, and the film does try to give plausible explanations for it. Also, in a film that’s literally titled Twisters, the expectation is that you’ll see twisters in every major scene. Nevertheless, it does sometimes strain the limits of belief that tornados pop up in virtually every scenario. But then again, it wouldn’t be able to earn the title of Twisters if it didn’t.
Should you watch it?
Twisters is a disaster film that lives up to its name, delivering theme park thrills using traditional cinematography. It evokes nostalgia of such disaster films of the past, before the advent of annoying technologies that threw things at you – demonstrating that classic filmmaking techniques are classic for a reason. The cherry on top is that it features a proper, engaging plot. Amidst the other, high profile blockbusters of the season, Twisters is a surprisingly good pick that deserves your time (and money) in theatres.
Score: 7.8/10
Twisters is out in cinemas 17 July, 2024.
This is an original article on marcusgohmarcusgoh.com
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