Twisters (film)

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Twisters
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLee Isaac Chung
Screenplay byMark L. Smith
Story byJoseph Kosinski
Based on
Characters
by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDan Mindel
Edited byTerilyn A. Shropshire
Music byBenjamin Wallfisch
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • July 8, 2024 (2024-07-08) (London)
  • July 19, 2024 (2024-07-19) (United States)
Running time
122 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$155 million[2][3]
Box office$31 million[4][5]

Twisters is a 2024 American disaster film directed by Lee Isaac Chung from a screenplay by Mark L. Smith, based on a story by Joseph Kosinski. It is a standalone sequel to the 1996 film Twister. The film stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, and Sasha Lane.

Twisters premiered in London on July 8, 2024, and was released internationally by Warner Bros. Pictures on July 10, 2024, and in the United States by Universal Pictures on July 19, 2024. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

College student Kate Carter works in Oklahoma with a team of fellow storm chasers including Javi, Addy, Praveen, and her boyfriend, Jeb. Alongside a Dorothy V doppler, the team launches barrels of sodium polyacrylate solution into a tornado to reduce its intensity. However, the crew is caught in the middle as it grows into an EF5 and, while running for cover, Addy, Praveen, and Jeb are killed, leaving Kate and Javi the only survivors.

Five years later, Kate works at a NOAA office in New York City. Javi, working for tornado radar company Storm Par, offers Kate a one-week position to become part of his team as they test a new scanning system for tornadoes. Kate initially refuses but eventually joins Javi after he sends a news report about a town recently ravaged by a tornado. Kate and Javi arrive in Oklahoma and join the rest of the Storm Par team, including businessman Scott. Also present is famous storm chaser Tyler Owens, known as the "Tornado Wrangler", and his crew, consisting of Boone, Dani, Dexter, Lily, and British journalist Ben. Storm Par and Tyler's crew set out on their first tornado which touched down in a nearby wind farm.

During the chase, Kate suffers a panic attack and is unable to help Javi set up the final scanner, and instead drives away. The team successfully launches the scanning system for the next tornado, but strong winds blow out the third scanner and Kate and Javi barely escape as the tornado barrels its way around them. They drive to a nearby town that a tornado destroyed to help recovery efforts, along with Tyler's crew. Having originally dismissed Tyler and his team as glory hounds, Kate realizes that Tyler's team uses the profits from merchandise sales to help people affected by tornadoes. Kate also meets Storm Par investor Marshall Riggs, who she later finds is profiteering from the tornados' devastation by purchasing damaged land.

Tyler invites Kate to a nearby rodeo. When a large tornado hits the area, they hide in an empty motel pool. In the tornado's aftermath, Kate and Javi argue about Riggs' intentions, causing the latter to blame Kate for their colleagues' deaths. Distraught, Kate retreats to her mother's farm in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. She is soon followed by Tyler, who uncovers Kate's previous notes and research regarding the tornado disruption experiment. Kate initially declines Tyler's offer to help retry the experiment but accepts after some convincing from Tyler. The next day, the two come upon a passing tornado and release the solution, but the tornado fails to dissipate. With the help of scanning data provided by an apologetic Javi, Kate hypothesizes a change in the experiment to correct a previous oversight.

The team tracks another tornado that develops near El Reno. Javi and Scott's truck nearly overturns in a nearby factory, but they escape just as the tornado catches fire after striking a power plant. Javi attempts to head to El Reno to help recovery efforts but is pressured by Scott to continue their mission for Riggs. Javi abandons Scott by the road and quits Storm Par. Kate, Tyler, and their team evacuate the townsfolk into shelters and basements. Tyler's leg is trapped by debris from a crashed train in the chaos, though Kate and an arriving Javi rescue him. The crew and other townsfolk hide in a nearby movie theater. Seeing no end to the destruction, Kate drives Tyler's truck to the center of the tornado. After a brief struggle with the controls, she launches the solution into the tornado, but her vehicle is overturned. The tornado rips the theater open, nearly pulling Lily out, but Tyler saves her just as the solution takes effect, dissipating the tornado. The team rescues Kate and celebrates the calming of the tornado.

Sometime later, Javi drops Kate off at an airport and promises that more research will continue on their successful experiment. As Kate departs for New York, she repeats Tyler's slogan "If you feel it, chase it" before a PA announces that strong winds have delayed flights; Tyler then appears and reconciles with Kate before they both leave in his truck.

Cast

  • Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kate Carter, a meteorologist and former storm chaser
  • Glen Powell as Tyler Owens, a famous storm chaser on the internet
  • Anthony Ramos as Javi, Kate's former storm chaser colleague
  • Brandon Perea as Boone, a videographer and member of Tyler's crew
  • Maura Tierney as Cathy Carter, Kate's mother
  • Harry Hadden-Paton as Ben, a London journalist profiling Tyler
  • Sasha Lane as Lily, a drone operator and member of Tyler's crew
  • Daryl McCormack as Jeb, Kate's boyfriend and member of her former storm chasing team
  • Kiernan Shipka as Addy, a member of Kate's former storm chasing team
  • Nik Dodani as Praveen, a member of Kate's former storm chasing team
  • David Corenswet as Scott, Javi's business partner
  • Tunde Adebimpe as Dexter, a scientist and a member of Tyler's crew
  • Katy O'Brian as Dani, a mechanic and member of Tyler's crew
  • David Born as Marshall Riggs, the man who helps fund the Storm Par team
  • Paul Scheer as airport traffic police
  • James Paxton as Cody, a disgruntled motel guest

Production

In June 2020, Universal Pictures announced a reboot of the 1996 film Twister, with Joseph Kosinski in early negotiations as director and Frank Marshall as producer.[6] Around the same time, the studio rejected plans from actress Helen Hunt to direct a sequel to the original film. That version, written by Hunt, Rafael Casal, and Daveed Diggs, who collaborated on the television series Blindspotting, would have followed "all black and brown storm chasers", members of a rocket science club at a historically black college and university who "shoot the rockets into the tornado".[7][8]

The studio film Twisters was director Lee Isaac Chung's next movie after the indie drama Minari. Both films were shot in Oklahoma.[9]

In October 2022, Universal, Amblin Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Pictures met with directors for Twisters, a sequel being fast-tracked for an early 2023 production start after Steven Spielberg, an executive producer of the original film, expressed his enthusiasm for a script by Mark L. Smith, with Marshall producing for the Kennedy/Marshall Company. Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Travis Knight, and Dan Trachtenberg were in talks to helm the project, Kosinski having dropped out to direct F1 (2025). The studio reportedly wanted Hunt to reprise her role, with the hopes of the story focusing on the daughter of her and Bill Paxton's characters.[10] In December, Lee Isaac Chung was hired to direct the now standalone sequel.[11] Chung's pitch to Marshall, Spielberg, and executive producer Jay Sandberg included a presentation that intercut footage from the original film and his own Minari, a semi-autobiographical indie drama that cost $2 million, particularly a scene in which characters experience a tornado watch.[9][12][13] Chung credited his time at Lucasfilm directing an episode of The Mandalorian as accustoming him to projects with lots of visual effects and noted growing up in tornado alley as inspiration.[12][14] Character dynamics were influenced by the films of Frank Capra and Howard Hawks, especially It Happened One Night (1934) and The Big Sky (1952).[13][15] Cast members were announced between March and May 2023.[16] Bill Paxton's son, James, has a cameo as a motel guest who tries driving away from a tornado.[17][18]

Twisters was shot on 35mm film.[12] Principal photography was originally going to occur in Atlanta, Georgia, but instead commenced around Oklahoma City in May 2023, marking Chung's return to the state of Oklahoma after Minari.[19][20][21] The move cost the crew several works days and resulted in the removal of some storm sequences.[21] Filming was to take place at Prairie Surf Studios for 40 days and in metro Oklahoma City for 50 days. Other locations included Burbank, Calumet, Cashion, Chickasha, Fairview, Hinton, Kingfisher, Kremlin, El Reno, Midwest City, Okarche, Pawhuska, and Spencer.[2][20] Challenges arose in El Reno due to heat waves, lightning storms, and strong winds, as well as the presence of "a jet engine on set that you could barely talk over" and the need for a bright, hot key light to produce the "feeling of a storm-like sky", according to Chung.[21] Storm chaser Sean Casey captured storm footage for the film.[13] The theater sequence was shot on a soundstage, using vintage seats from a closed Colorado movie theater and a location in El Reno as a reference point. It was Chung's decision for the characters to be viewing Frankenstein (1931), a reference to Universal's "monsters" franchise.[13][22] Filming was suspended in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[23] Production resumed with the conclusion of the strike in November 2023 and wrapped the following month.[24][25] In July 2024, Variety and Deadline Hollywood listed the budget as $155 million before print and advertising costs.[3][26]

According to Smith, the story incorporates the effects of climate change.[27] However, the film does not mention the issue by name. Chung clarified he "wanted to make sure that we are never creating a feeling that we're preaching a message, because that's certainly not what I think cinema should be about. I think it should be a reflection of the world."[28] Chung said the most challenging part about making Twisters was balancing the tone because he wanted to entertain audiences while simultaneously taking the natural disasters seriously due to their real-world impacts.[21]

Music

Twisters: The Album
Soundtrack album by
various artists
ReleasedJuly 19, 2024 (2024-07-19)
GenreCountry, Americana
LabelAtlantic
Producer
Singles from Twisters: The Album
  1. "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma"
    Released: May 16, 2024
  2. "Out of Oklahoma"
    Released: June 20, 2024[30]

Benjamin Wallfisch composed the film's score.[31] The soundtrack, Twisters: The Album, was released on July 19, 2024, and features songs from several country acts, including Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, and others.[32] The lead single, "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" by Combs, was released on May 16.[32] "Hell or High Water" by Bailey Zimmerman was released digitally on May 23, followed in the subsequent weeks by "Never Left Me" by Megan Moroney, "Already Had It" by Tucker Wetmore, and "Too Easy" by Tanner Adell. Additionally, "Dead End Road" by Jelly Roll would be used as an official theme song for WWE's SummerSlam event in 2024. The album is scheduled to be released on CD, LP, and digital download by Atlantic Records.[33]

Twisters: The Album track listing[34][35]
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Ain't No Love in Oklahoma"Luke Combs3:31
2."Ain't in Kansas Anymore"Miranda Lambert3:14
3."Steal My Thunder"Conner Smith featuring Tucker Wetmore3:10
4."Feelin' Country"Thomas Rhett2:45
5."The Cards I've Been Dealt"Warren Zeiders2:49
6."Never Left Me"Megan Moroney3:12
7."Out of Oklahoma"Lainey Wilson3:28
8."Hell or High Water"Bailey Zimmerman3:15
9."Dead End Road"Jelly Roll2:32
10."Country Classic"Kane Brown2:56
11."Tear Us Apart"Sam Barber2:46
12."Song While You're Away"Tyler Childers5:01
13."Already Had It"Tucker Wetmore2:46
14."Chrome Cowgirl"Leon Bridges2:29
15."Death Wish Love"Benson Boone3:44
16."Boots Don't"Shania Twain and Breland2:46
17."Stronger than a Storm"Dylan Gossett4:07
18."Chasing the Wind"Lanie Gardner2:54
19."Leave the Light On"Jelly Roll featuring Alexandra Kay3:21
20."Before I Do"Wyatt Flores and Jake Kohn3:50
21."Caddo Country"The Red Clay Strays3:22
22."Blackberry Wine"Tanner Usrey3:34
23."Too Easy"Tanner Adell2:31
24."Shake Shake (All Night Long)"Mason Ramsey3:02
25."New Loop"Tyler Halverson3:03
26."Touchdown"Flatland Cavalry3:08
27."Driving You Home"Nolan Taylor4:09
28."Wall of Death"Wilderado, Ken Pomeroy, and James McAlister2:30
29."(Ghost) Riders in the Sky"Charley Crockett3:28

Release

Twisters premiered at Cineworld Leicester Square in London on July 8, 2024. Notably attending the event was Tom Cruise, who worked with Powell on Top Gun: Maverick in 2022.[36] The film also screened at the Taormina Film Fest in Italy in July 2024.[37] The film was released in the United States by Universal Pictures on July 19, 2024, and early in some international markets by Warner Bros. Pictures, beginning on July 10.[38][39]

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, Twisters was initially projected to gross $40–55 million from 4,151 theaters in its opening weekend.[3][40] After the film made $31 million on its first day, including an estimated $10.7 million from Wednesday and Thursday previews, projections were raised to $72 million for the weekend.[26]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 77% of 238 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Summoning a storm of spectacle and carried along by the gale force winds of Glen Powell's charisma, Twisters' forecast is splendid with a high chance of thrills."[41] According to the website, critics felt that Chung added "more substance" to the film and praised the film's visuals and "unexpectedly well-handled romantic twist", calling it a "rousing piece of summer blockbuster cinema".[42] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100, based on 55 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[43]

Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave it a score of five out of five, writing that it "vastly improves on [the original] in all regards".[44] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Jordan Hoffman gave the film a "A-" grade, saying "There's a ton of technobabble that you have to take on faith, but Jones and Powell do more than sell it; they make it compelling".[45] IndieWire's David Ehrlich gave the film a "B+" grade and said "And for all of the unearned goodwill that Twisters extends to viral content creators, it still makes one of this summer's most emphatic arguments in favor of the big screen experience".[46]

Owen Gleiberman of Variety gave the film a mixed review. He praised the performances of Powell and Edgar-Jones, but suggested the film was not as innovative as the original film given the prevalence of the Internet and actual videos of tornadoes freely available. He wrote, "Staring up at the tornadoes in Twisters, I felt like I'd already seen something exactly like them — and that when it comes to footage of actual tornadoes, I'd already seen something more incredible".[47]

References

  1. ^ "Twisters (12A)". BBFC. July 5, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Hayes, Jana; McDonnell, Brandy (June 24, 2023). "Could Twisters and this independent movie get paid back for filming in Oklahoma City?". The Oklahoman. Gannett. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Rubin, Rebecca (July 17, 2024). "Box Office: Twisters Aims to Stir Up $55 Million Debut". Variety. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  4. ^ "Twisters". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  5. ^ "Twisters (2024)". The Numbers. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  6. ^ Kroll, Justin (June 24, 2020). "Twister Reboot in the Works at Universal With Joseph Kosinski Eyed to Direct (Exclusive)". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  7. ^ Moss, Kyle (June 11, 2021). "Helen Hunt says her idea for a Twister sequel featuring 'all Black and brown storm chasers' was rejected". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  8. ^ Guerrasio, Jason (April 12, 2023). "Daveed Diggs says the Twister sequel he was developing with Helen Hunt didn't get made due to 'potentially shady' reasons". Business Insider. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Zacharek, Stephanie (July 17, 2024). "Why We All Have a Stake in Twisters' Success". TIME. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  10. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 17, 2022). "The Dish: Twisters Forecast For Spring Start As Universal, Amblin Finalize Director For Sequel". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on October 17, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  11. ^ Vlessing, Etan (December 15, 2022). "Lee Isaac Chung in Talks to Direct Twisters Sequel". The Hollywood Reporter. Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c Davids, Brian (July 17, 2024). "Twisters Director Lee Isaac Chung Talks Steven Spielberg's Big Assist and How Star Wars Helped Him Land the Job". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d Chang, Justin (July 14, 2024). "Lee Isaac Chung's Upward Spiral". Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  14. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (July 15, 2024). "Why Lee Isaac Chung Went from Minari to Twisters: Big-Screen 'Filmmakers Have a Responsibility to Prove This Art Form Is Good'". IndieWire. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  15. ^ Bria, Bill (July 19, 2024). "Twisters Director Was Afraid To Take The Job, But That Fear Lit A Fire Under Him [Exclusive]". /Film. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  16. ^ Attributed to multiple sources:
  17. ^ Murphy, Mekado (July 19, 2024). "Twisters | Anatomy of a Scene". The New York Times. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  18. ^ Jackson, Angelique (July 11, 2024). "How Bill Paxton's Son James Ended Up in a Twisters Cameo: 'I Wanted to Be a Conduit for Dad's Spirit'". Variety. Archived from the original on July 11, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  19. ^ "Parts Of Downtown Oklahoma City Transform Into NYC For New Twister Movie". KWTV-DT. Griffin Media. May 10, 2023. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  20. ^ a b Tramel, Jimmie (July 19, 2024). "Twisters: See all our coverage of the shot-in-Oklahoma movie here". Tulsa World. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  21. ^ a b c d O'Connell, Mikey (July 16, 2024). "Lee Isaac Chung Says Twisters Is a Road Movie... With Tornadoes". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  22. ^ Kovacs, Gabriel (July 19, 2024). "Twisters Director Lee Isaac Chung Talks Meeting Steven Spielberg, Special Effects & More | ReelBlend Interview". CinemaBlend. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  23. ^ Gonzalez, Umberto (July 14, 2023). "Here Are All The Movies Affected by the SAG-AFTRA Strike From Deadpool 3 to Mission: Impossible 8 (Photos)". TheWrap. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  24. ^ Sperling, Nicole (November 9, 2023). "Getting Hollywood Back Up and Running Won't Be Easy". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  25. ^ Kaplan, Ilana (December 22, 2023). "How Glen Powell Charmed Hollywood". Vogue. Condé Nast. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  26. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 19, 2024). "Twisters Whirling To Great $72M Opening – Box Office Friday Midday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  27. ^ McPherson, Chris (December 15, 2023). "Twisters Won't Be Connected to Twister Despite What You've Heard [Exclusive]". Collider. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  28. ^ Page, Thomas (July 16, 2024). "You won't hear about climate change in Twisters. Here's why". CNN. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  29. ^ "New Star-Studded Sountrack 'Twisters: The Album' Announced, with Exhilarating First Single 'Ain't No Love in Oklahoma' from Global Superstar Luke Combs" (Press release). Warner Music New Zealand. May 17, 2024. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  30. ^ Millman, Ethan (June 20, 2024). "Lainey Wilson Unleashes New Single for 'Twisters' Soundtrack". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  31. ^ "Benjamin Wallfisch to Score Lee Isaac Chung's 'Twisters'". Film Music Reporter. April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  32. ^ a b Anderson, Liza (May 16, 2024). "Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert & More Featured On Forthcoming 'Twisters: The Album'". Music Row. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  33. ^ "Twisters: The Album". Atlantic Records. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  34. ^ Nicholson, Jessica (May 16, 2024). "Luke Combs, Jelly Roll & More Share New Music For 'Twisters' Movie Companion Album". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  35. ^ "Twisters: The Album – Album by Various Artists". Apple Music. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  36. ^ Gardner, Chris (July 8, 2024). "Tom Cruise Attends Twisters Premiere to Support Top Gun Pal Glen Powell". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  37. ^ Ntim, Zac (June 5, 2024). "Lee Isaac Chung's Twisters To Screen At Italy's Taormina Film Festival". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  38. ^ Grobar, Matt (December 20, 2022). "'Twisters' From Director Lee Isaac Chung Gets Universal Release Date". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  39. ^ McPherson, Chris (July 14, 2024). "'Twisters' Blows Away Expectations at International Box Office". Collider. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  40. ^ McClintock, Pamela (July 17, 2024). "Box Office: Twisters Hopes to Whip Up Category 5 Storm in U.S. Debut". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  41. ^ "Twisters". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  42. ^ Campbell, Christopher (July 11, 2024). "Twisters First Reviews: Thrilling, Immersive, and Surprisingly Full of Heart". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  43. ^ "Twisters". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  44. ^ Collin, Robbie (July 10, 2024). "Twisters: The best cinematic experience since Top Gun: Maverick". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  45. ^ Hoffman, Jordan (July 10, 2024). "Twisters is hot, dumb, and fun — like a great summer movie should be". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  46. ^ Ehrlich, David (July 10, 2024). "Twisters Review: Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones Deliver Classic Amblin Thrills in One of the Most Satisfying Movies of the Summer". IndieWire. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  47. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (July 10, 2024). "Twisters Review: Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones Lead a Sequel Full of State-of-the-Art Storms, but It's Less Awesome Than the Original". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
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