Time for something to turn again: the “Twister” successor is here
Published: Tuesday, Jul 16th 2024, 10:30
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In 1996, Helen Hunt chased after tornadoes with a tousled hairstyle. Now the disaster movie "Twister" is being continued after 28 years. Is this more than just a lukewarm remake?
It was late summer 1996 when a cow flew across the screen. And seconds later, the next one. "Another cow!", actress Helen Hunt remarked irritatingly calmly as the cattle mooed and blew past her. "No," her colleague Bill Paxton, who was sitting next to her, corrected her. "I think that was the same one." Hunt and Paxton were the charismatic leads of the movie "Twister" - a disaster blockbuster in which tornadoes whirled everything and everyone around in circles.
There has always been speculation about a sequel to the film that fans of 90s cinema love, but which some may have forgotten. Now, 28 years later, the time has come: in the follow-up film "Twisters", hurricanes are once again tearing through the USA in Swiss cinemas from Thursday. With new leading actors, but with a striking number of references to the original. Which is both a blessing and a curse.
Return to the eyes of the storm
Instead of Helen Hunt, who braved the winds in the 1996 version with an often legendary tousled hairstyle, Daisy Edgar-Jones ("Where the Crawdads Sing") now plays the leading role. However, the fates of the two women are similar. Both are fascinated by tornadoes and have a kind of gift for sensing them. At the same time, they have also experienced in the past how the forces of nature simply tear one or more loved ones from their lives. Edgar-Jones plays the scientist Kate, who has moved to New York after the traumatic experience, at a safe distance from the worst of the weather capers.
However, the return to the eyes of the storms then goes quickly. When an old friend turns up and tries to persuade Kate to test a new type of tracking system, she returns to her home in Oklahoma, to the USA's "Tornado Alley". Unfortunately, the new technology has to be placed very close to the wind monsters or it won't work - so Kate becomes a storm chaser again. She meets Tyler, a mixture of storm guru and cowboy, who races after the winds with a smart smile for his social media channel. He is played by Glen Powell ("Top Gun: Maverick").
"Twisters" should be a "topical chapter"
The makers describe the new film as a "current chapter" of the former blockbuster - which leaves open the question of whether it is a sequel in the strictest sense. Much of it seems more like an update, because the character constellations and themes (man versus nature, fear versus fascination) are similar.
There are also visual cross-references. Heavy cars are constantly crashing through fields, the mud is always splashing and someone is screaming. Daisy Edgar-Jones doesn't quite have the famous coolness of Helen Hunt, but she resembles her type, even in terms of her hairstyle. In one scene, she even wears a khaki-colored outfit that is intended as an homage to Hunt's wardrobe. A measuring device also appears, reminiscent of the equipment that Hunt and Paxton (who died in 2017) used to tackle tornadoes ("Dorothy").
Duel between man and storm
One wonders whether, in the year 2024 and a few research findings on climate change later, we should be telling stories about the forces of nature differently than we did in 1996. Back then, director Jan De Bont ("Speed") staged the tornadoes like wild animals hunting humans. It was the time of the dinosaur blockbuster "Jurassic Park" - and the mythical "F5" tornado, the worst of them all, was the equivalent of the T-Rex.
It's not dissimilar in "Twisters". Without giving too much away: In the end, there is a direct duel between man and storm, which is again radically personalized. Conquering the force of nature remains the task of a fearless lone fighter who will solve the problem. "Twisters" is a kind of "Twister" with better technology. However, we now see more wind turbines.
On the other hand, one could argue that American heroic cinema works and fascinates. A beautiful summer disaster movie, when was the last time we had that? The movie has that naivety that we would love to have again - just like back in the 90s.
©Keystone/SDA
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