In 1996, the movie Twister was released. It was all anybody could talk about for weeks. Extreme weather? Terrified people? Trucks and cows flying? Attractive co-stars, one of whom was in a high-rated sitcom (Helen Hunt)? All of it made for compelling viewing.
The plot of Twister isn’t award-winning for a reason. As a popcorn flick, the premise is shallower than a wading pool — our main characters sure do love heading into tornadoes with their tracking technology. For some reason, movie reasons really, this only works if the aforementioned device is deployed directly into a tornado by the human hand. Even the romantic relationship between Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton has gaping holes. Bill’s girlfriend amicably disappears halfway through, allowing our two main characters to reconcile by the finale. The film was a critical nothing-burger, but audiences loved it. Proven by putting their cash where it counted, the movie made almost $500M at the box office off the back of a $92M budget.
The commercial success ushered in the era of “when nature attacks” movie era, where nascent CGI technology helped theaters explore all the ways in which nature could hold a grudge. What followed were movies such as Armageddon (gargantuan meteors), Deep Impact (Godzilla-level tsunamis caused by gargantuan meteors), and The Day After Tomorrow (no meteors but Winter came early).
This summer, viewers will be treated to the not-quite-a sequel Twisters. Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos, the trailer is big on tornados. Just like the original, we’re back in the Great Plains, an area known as Tornado Alley. It’s a part of the world that is home to the most twisters, averaging between 9-12 a year.
In the trailer, we find ourselves with a new group of storm chasers. But this time, they’re a little different. Daisy Edgar-Jones plays a character with PTSD after a tornado run-in during her college years. Now she sits in New York, safely monitoring them from afar. But it isn’t long before she’s convinced to return to Oklahoma by her friend Javi (Anthony Ramos). Her involvement is key in testing a new system of tracking storms.
While she’s there, she runs into Glen Powell’s character, an adrenaline junkie/tour guide who takes his truck into the eye of a dust devil. He and his guests sit in a vehicle which is grounded via a gigantic corkscrew (could you imagine going over a speedbump with that?) as winds whip round. Clearly they team up as she faces her fears of tornadoes. Will this romantic interlude play differently in the sequel? We can only wait to see. And for those keen on disaster movies, there’s also plenty of scenes of houses being demolished and baseball games being interrupted so that you know it’s serious.
But more importantly, are viewers in for a new era of “human v. nature” blockbusters? The appeal certainly remains for this genre of film. Can we expect a sequel to The Day After Tomorrow, this time we see the ice storm melt? Or a movie centered around hurricanes or floods? Would we see The Rock battling it out in San Andreas 2? There is something to be said for the experience of watching one of these movies in the cinema. The audience remains highly engaged, cheering our protagonists along. It takes on a temporary camaraderie, in the airconditioned environs.
Therefore, it is hopeful that studios continue with such films. It seems it would be a good step forward in getting audiences back into theaters post COVID, to improve lagging box offices. In the meantime, buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Twisters will be released on 19th July.
