Glen Powell wears a cowboy hat in “Twisters,” the spiritual sequel to the 1996 hit.
How unnecessary.
His swagger and old-school machismo make such headgear moot. And he’s a perfect fit for this Oklahoma yarn brimming with Heartland-friendly themes and a decided lack of lectures.
They even left the Climate Change screeds off screen.
Yes, the tornado theatrics are increasingly silly, but “Twisters’” throwback charm can’t be denied.
Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Kate Cooper, an idealistic “storm chaser” scarred by tragedy. The terrific opening shows her fellow chasers getting hammered by a larger-than-expected tornado.
Five years later, she reluctantly re-teams with a fellow survivor named Javi (Anthony Ramos). He craves her innate weather sense and, to be fair, maybe smitten in other ways.
Kate and Javi have serious competition in the hunt to tame wild tornadoes. Tyler (Powell) chases storms for his bustling YouTube channel, treating the life-or-death twisters like your average influencer.
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Kate and Tyler instantly clash, but wouldn’t you know it the icy chill between them melts before too long.
Did that require a spoiler alert?
Can they corral their budding emotions while keeping Small Town Oklahoma safe from all those storm fronts?
This IS a sequel, remember, so we’re guaranteed more twisters than a Weather Channel highlight reel.
Director Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”) deprives us of the ’90s-era cheese many expected from this franchise revival. Yes, the CGI theatrics are decidedly big, but Kate’s personal journey anchors the sillier bits.
It helps that Maura Tierney’s portrayal of her down-home momma adds to Kate’s development.
The rest is up to Powell, flashing A-list charm without breaking a sweat. Yes, Tyler is cocksure to the core, but the screenplay grants him enough depth to balance that bravado.
Edgar-Jones holds her own with Powell, never falling for any girlboss tropes. Her emotional wounds are never far from the surface.
The Oklahoma setting, treated with reverence over ridicule, sets this summer entry apart from most blockbusters. The soundtrack packs a decided twang, another unfamiliar layer from La La Land.
For all the bombast there’s the aching sense of what tornadoes do to families and communities.
Total devastation. Kudos to Team “Twisters” for reminding us.
Another winning element?
The film offers up a love triangle without a boo-hiss villain. The film’s romantic elements are there for all to see, but they’re never shoved in our faces or downgraded for the sake of storytelling.
Be warned. There’s still a scene in an airport, as if the filmmakers couldn’t resist the hoariest rom-com trope.
The film’s two-hour running time is, once again, a mistake. The more we see of these hellacious twisters, the less magnificent they become.
Still, Chung wrings plenty out of that Mother Nature fury, and the chasm between ’90s CGI and today couldn’t be more dramatic.
HiT or Miss: “Twisters” can’t help indulging in Hollywood-style storms, but considerable star power and storytelling finesse keep this blockbuster spinning.
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