The movie Twisters (2024) is a sequel to the famous movie of 1996 which people recall for the exciting action and the scenes of the tornadoes. This sequel reminds of the original movie although the concept is very similar, I would rather like more if they have included part of the original cast and have Helen Hunt play Kate's mother. The movie does not bring up some discussions on global warming and its impacts on the society, does bring more issues on society itself as taking advantage of those who loose their homes during such events, yet does not explore them in detail. The core of tornado chasing is still there but the danger feels different special with all the effects and the actors did a good job at showing some feelings when they had too; it feels more like a world in which extreme weather events are becoming more and more common. The characters in this desperate struggle against the clock and against the twisters, and against their personal problems, move in a world that is very threatening as they try to catch the next tornado to study how they work and how to stop them. Although the film doesn’t concentrate on significant topics, it remains an important and exciting piece of cinema not much because of the drama but more about the action and thrill of what is to get inside one of this beasts of nature.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12584954/
- Platform: AppleTV+
CONTEXT AND CHARACTERS
The story develops around the main character Kate, a meteorologist who comes back to storm chasing five years after a tragic event connected with a tornado where she lost her friends and her boyfriend, they all had the same goal in mind but were not clear on the risks. In contrast to her counterpart in the 1996 movie, she undertakes this process while being weighed down by psychological problems. Many years down the line there is an outbreak of tornadoes that takes her to the path of Javi, an ex colleague friend who offers her to work with him in new tornado detection system, military grade but with shady foundations. This setup is the backbone of the film, the past of the main characters and their opposing goals make the character relationships more interesting once Kate starts to unfold what is really bellow all this tech that Javi has been developing. Science is Javi’s way of saving lives and at the same time his investors gains more land and makes a lot of money buying from those in desperate need, this contrast is an essential part of the film’s themes of ambition, loss and desperation.On this second chance that Kate has to chase tornadoes, comes in Tyler who joins the conflict, he is the action man who represents the opposite of Javi’s approach, the man who is motivated by the thrill of the chase. Tyler’s group, a small crew of storm chasers with no professional credits to speak of and who are in contrast with Javi’s team bring in a more comic stance as they enjoy their work, same time they risk their life at chasing each tornadoe. This makes them pull and push each other in a very interesting way as they have different ideologies. Kate who is in the middle of the two, now represents the conflict between the professional and the personal, she was born and raise close to the area, always pack with tornadoes since she was a kid, between the desire to succeed as a professional and also safe more life keeping her reputation and honor, this turn out to be the main conflict of the story because Javi got blinded and off the rails when he accept all the funding for his project with the excuse to safe people from the tornadoes at the same time throwing them into the lions den when ever they loose their house and more, letting his investor jump in first hand and buy all this cheap property now.
THEMES
The most expose theme described in the sequel is the encounter with the forces of nature with the film generating a contrast of the human desire with the natural disasters as the setting of the film. The tornadoes represent forces that cannot be tamed, forces of the living and the dying, the turmoil and the tranquility. In this dance with destruction, the main characters handle their interpersonal relations and their link to the environment. Tornadoes are the highest point of scientific research and at the same time they are the manifestation of people’s inability to control nature.
This results in conversations about the climate change and the sense of an emergency when the consequences become visible. Although the film’s script suggests these problems, it does not elaborate on them much and this is probably because there are no proven foundation to the sciences apply on the movie, this production is more of a sci fi film than reality. The implications of increasing storm severity raise questions: In what ways do we interact with the threats that emanate from our shifting environment?. The filmmakers could have taken a more intellectual stance on these issues; however they chose to make the film more humorous and dramatic rather than base it on actual science but I can understand this situation perfectly, after all its a movie not a documentary.
ACTION SEQUENCES AND TWISTERS
The focus of the sequel is on the action scenes that bring the element of excitement, fear and the visual impact. The tornado sequences are intended to portray the raw power of natural phenomenon. When the team is examining tornadoes production make it seems to be a ride in an amusement park rather than exposing the risks from the start but then again its a movie, its suppose to be entertaining and not so much factual. The cinematography is on point here, showing not only the anarchy of the nature but also the close up of the characters lives. The film’s speed also increases to show the desperation of the characters involved. This choreography of action guarantees the viewers’ attention and at the same time reveals the complexity of the relationships between the main characters. This is a good thing for the plot because it adds both the large scale action and the personal story. There are not many questions to ask as what is at risk with every scene, the two protagonists are in even more danger and the viewer gets pulled into the path of these twisters with a similar sensation as if they going to survive going into another tornado.CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS
The film is not very concerned with character development which is quite surprising given the time it takes to tell the story, the interaction between Kate and Tyler is all we get about them, there is not much background from them and specially not from the rest of the characters. It is in their relationship that the authors are able to discuss issues of trauma and recovery, Tyler has charismatic personality and gets the attention of Kate but their goals even though are the same, are forced to go in the opposite which leads to tension and vulnerability, all thanks to Javi Investor.Javi is an interesting character who helps to develop the plot and provide an opposite image of Tyler but same as almost every other character on this movie has no background and he is just doing his thing, when finally we get to link him with his investor and past all he had to say is he chase storms to safe others when in fact he opens the door for a man to buy land with predatory tactics. There are many aspects from the characters that felt cut off, for example how Kate and Tyler end up the movie together but are they a couple? is she finally leaving her past behind? The entire movie develop around this three character without us knowing much about their past, in a way this might be good because it keeps the story straight to the point making it very simple to understand their present and letting the action scenes steal the show.
I can see many people who end up empty after watching the movie because first there is nothing scientifically proven from it so we can say didn't learn anything new and when it comes to the drama, Kate didn't actually end up with Tyler and Javi have to start from scratch again after he left his team but none of this is shown within the movie.
The movie does felt engaging as when the characters are indecisive as to what side they have to choose, specially in the case of Kate and Javi, although there is no deeper message not even about topics like the environment in the movie, the movie is enjoyable but do not expect it to be more than that, another action movie based on natural disasters that falls a bit flat when it comes to drama and suspense but this time around not because the actors where not as good as needed but in my opinion because the script felt short.
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