Shadows on the Wall

Twisters

dir Lee Isaac Chung
scr Mark L Smith
prd Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley
with Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, Harry Hadden-Paton, Sasha Lane, David Corenswet, Katy O'Brian, Daryl McCormack, Kiernan Shipka, Nik Dodani, Tunde Adebimpe
release US/UK 19.Jul.24
24/US Warners 1h57

TORONTO FILM FEST

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While there's fun to be had chasing storms for a couple of hours, it's difficult to stop wondering why this film was made. There's virtually no connection with the 1996 original, and an even less inventive story, with each event coming along exactly on schedule. And amid comments about growing numbers of tornadoes, climate change is never mentioned. This may be solid big-screen entertainment, but there's nothing to it.

Oklahoma weather student Kate (Edgar-Jones) has her studies derailed by a tornado-based tragedy. Five years later, her old cohort Javi (Ramos) tracks her down in New York, offering her new tech to monitor tornadoes. And Kate takes the bait, heading back to chase more storms. But social media hotshot Tyler (Powell) and his yee-haw team are always in the way. It takes a beat before Kate realises that Tyler might be able to help her complete her big experiment. These storm systems are dangerous, threatening town after town, and now maybe Kate can stop them.

Excellent visual effects are augmented by an engulfing sound mix, while director Chung keeps attention focussed on characters. So it's somewhat frustrating that the script never attempts anything original with them. Both relationships and action set-pieces are fully predictable, including comical banter and melodramatic emotions that are sparked by the standard collection of heart-tugging back-stories. That said, there's just enough energy in each of these people to keep us hanging on for the ride.

Each actor does as much as possible to bring a thin role to life. Edgar-Jones adds a spark of intelligence that mixes intriguingly with Kate's thrill-seeking tendencies, surprising herself (but no one else) when she begins to find Tyler rather attractive. Powell delivers terrific swagger as the rock-star "tornado wrangler", a good-time cowboy who knows his stuff. And there's solid support from the ensemble around them. Standouts include Tierney as Kate's no-nonsense mother, Hadden-Paton as a clownish journalist and Corenswet as the token sneering corporate goon.

Yes, there's a sneering corporate subplot trying to add tension to the plot, but it never has bite and goes precisely nowhere. As with the environmental issue, it feels like the filmmakers were afraid of alienating any segments of their target audience with even a hint of thematic integrity. So while there's some enjoyment in the enormous scale of expertly staged mayhem, this is an oddly missed opportunity to make a natural disaster thriller with a sharply pointed edge.

themes, language, violence 15.Jul.24

R E A D E R R E V I E W S

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