'Twisters' review: In search of the storm of blockbusters of the past

Tornadoes have been a subject of cinematic fascination at least since “The Wizard of Oz” in 1939, but Dutch cameraman-turned-director Jan de Bont helped solidify the appeal of the cinematic cyclone with his 1996 summer blockbuster “Twister,” about a group of adrenaline-junkie storm chasers. A belated sequel, “Twisters,” arrives 28 years after de Bont’s film, chasing away all those “Sharknados” that have cluttered the tornado-movie subgenre and reminding us of what made “Twister” so appealing to begin with. It wasn’t necessarily the aerial wildlife, but rather the human dramas that unfold as twisters roam the landscape.

Minari director Lee Isaac Chung takes on Twisters, which has an analogue in Aliens, and not just in his approach to choosing the title. Both Twisters and Aliens are bigger, punchier sequels than their ruthlessly efficient predecessors, and both are wildly entertaining, expanding the world introduced in the first films without straining to replicate it.

The only cameo by a “Twister” star in “Twisters” is that of “Dorothy,” the data-gathering device developed in the first film. Otherwise, these new characters simply share the same passion for understanding storms. Chung and screenwriter Joseph Kosinski (Mark L. Smith wrote the script) build on the elements that made the first film so compelling, filling the plot with colorful characters while focusing on two leads with an undeniable chemistry that’s as stormy as the weather.

Our new heroine, meteorologist Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones), has given up storm chasing after exposing her team to danger and suffering a devastating personal loss in the path of a brutal tornado during her college days. She runs as far from her guilt as she can and lands in New York City behind a desk at the National Weather Service.

But the past always comes knocking, here in the form of an old friend, Javi (Anthony Ramos), who convinces Kate to help him with a new project, Storm PAR, which involves developing portable, military-grade radar systems to create more accurate storm warnings for real estate developers hoping to build in tornado-ravaged areas.

When they head to Oklahoma to measure storms during a tornado outbreak, the pair encounter a throng of amateur storm chasers and a boastful social media star, Tyler (Glen Powell), a self-proclaimed “tornado tamer,” who performs stunts like driving his fortified truck directly into a twister to shoot fireworks out of the funnel while livestreaming for his followers. Naturally, he sells T-shirts emblazoned with his face and travels with a crew of storm chasers who seem eternally ready for Burning Man (a charm offensive consisting of Brandon Perea, Sasha Lane, Katy O’Brian, and Tunde Adebimpe).

But Tyler’s signature line, “If you feel it, chase it,” is eerily similar to Kate’s own relationship with storms. If he’s the one who cares for them, she seeks to be the tamer, the intuitive. Kate doesn’t read radar, but the fluff on dandelions and the way the wind ripples across wheat. Despite their prickly interactions, Tyler and Kate are far more congenial than she is to the Storm PAR crew, a bunch of polo-shirted, PhD-wearing nerds, including the grumpy Scott (David Corenswet), a numbers geek. And when Powell turns his lightning-bolt smile on Edgar-Jones, it’s only a matter of time before these enemies become lovers — or at least colleagues.

Chung’s “Minari” is an autobiographical story about a Korean immigrant family settling in Arkansas, and he knows the tone of a small town in the American heartland, as well as the terror of tornado warnings. He takes care of the arrangement of the dishes, using contemporary country tunes and a charming perspective on good old Americana. The Stars and Stripes flag waves in the night sky at a local rodeo before a tornado rips through the middle of it. If Kate and Tyler have one motivation, it’s to save the people of these towns and their way of life.

“Twisters” focuses on too many stories that don’t build up to anything worthwhile, like a dire real estate subplot that quickly fizzles out. Maybe it’s just the gravitational pull of Powell’s outsized charisma, but the movie is at its best when it focuses on him and his merry band of content creators — though it needs the back-and-forth with a partner like Edgar-Jones to shine.

Shiny, glossy entertainment also needs to be anchored to the ground, and Chung's attention to Edgar-Jones' quietly powerful performance offers surprisingly emotional sustenance to this finger-licking film. The heartbreaking opening sequence is surprisingly moving.

Even if Chung leaves us wanting a little more romance, he delivers a highly entertaining summer blockbuster in “Twisters,” one with a thematic heft that makes it even better than expected and better than the first.

Katie Walsh is a film critic for the Tribune News Service.