The state of Oklahoma was ravaged by monster weather events once again on the Hollywood silver screen beginning on July 19, 2024.
“Twisters,” a standalone sequel to the 1996 film “Twister,” paid homage to the original while still being a movie of its own with a completely different cast of actors. The original “Twister” director Jan de Bont was followed by “Twisters” director Lee Isaac Chung, and the new movie is still clearly another chapter in the franchise with some obvious connections across the two movies.

While the original “Twister” movie is known as one of the most intense, classic disaster movies of the ‘90s, the new movie “Twisters” has an even stronger ability to keep viewers on the edge of their seats with many larger, more dangerous tornadoes throughout the film. The advances in Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) within the 28 years between both movies made for an even more extreme viewing experience during “Twisters.”

According to IMDB, the “Twisters” budget was $155 million while the “Twister” budget was $92 million. Hollywood Reporter said that “Twisters” grossed $80.5 million on the opening weekend, which greatly exceeded the expected $50-$55 million. However, it did not surpass the performance of the original “Twister” in the box office. “Twister” earned $41 million during the opening weekend, which accumulates to $82 million today after inflation is factored in.

From the very beginning, “Twisters” made viewers hold onto their seats because of the immediate incorporation of the jarring EF5 tornado, the most dangerous level of tornado. The intense start of the sequel was nail-biting as it was obvious the writers were not hesitant to put characters into life-threatening situations.

After a five-year time jump, Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is joined by Tyler Owens (Glenn Powell), also known as the “Tornado Wrangler.” Tyler and his team of YouTuber storm chasers seemingly chase tornadoes only for the thrill and subscribers. Kate initially competed against Tyler and his team because she joined a group of highly-funded storm chasers called Storm Par alongside her teammate Javier “Javi” Rivera (Anthony Ramos).

As an echo of the original “Twister,” much of the movie is focused around the damage that tornadoes cause to unsuspecting towns and villages whose whole livelihoods are swept away by a single storm. Kate went through the mental process of realizing that the company she worked for was in the wrong. Instead of prioritizing the wellness of the citizens of Oklahoma, Javi and Storm Par only cared about making money and appealing to investors. Kate came to realize that Tyler and his crew, however superficial their YouTube channel might seem, were the only ones who really helped the people whose lives were affected by tornado damage.

This classic moral battle between company greed and freelancing voices of the people is essentially what gives this on-screen battle of man versus nature a deeper connection to the audience. The sympathetic group of storm chasers that Kate eventually joins speaks to the morality of the viewer and pushes them to help those in need rather than follow the temptation of financial success.

This genuinity is channeled in the way that “Twisters” was filmed. It was filmed in Oklahoma, which is a state in tornado alley in which the citizens often experience devastating tornadoes. Not only were they in a dangerous area while filming, but they were there during tornado season. Multiple times, the production crew had to pack up and take cover from tornadoes and strong weather that formed in the area. Many other times, filming had to be postponed and sets were damaged due to strong winds and storms.

“Twisters” director Chung said during an interview with Vanity Fair that the “entire shooting schedule was lightning delay after lightning delay.” He also said that words like “lightning” were banned on set because they were bad luck. However, this gamble and the extra work paid off because it made for a much more authentic movie experience. It also makes the acting very genuine and makes the movie feel more real than if all of the landscaping was created with CGI.

This fast paced movie was one of the most intense films in theaters this past summer, and the natural disaster genre clearly is not going anywhere any time soon. From the ‘90s to now, this type of movie has continued to entertain audiences, and “Twisters” paid its dues to the classic by doing just that. So, if anyone is thinking about going to see this movie before it leaves theaters, as Tyler always says, “if you feel it, chase it!”