2 hrs 2 mins, in cinemas

⭐⭐

Inoffensive disaster film isn’t quite entertaining enough to qualify as ‘dumb fun’.

Despite the fact that I write a blog reviewing theatre in London, which is about the most pretentious thing you can do, I’m very in touch with my inner basic b***h. I like dumb things sometimes. I like The Mummy (1999 obviously, the one with the ridiculously gorgeous cast), and National Treasure, and Team America: World Police (look I know it doesn’t really hold up but I was 17 and drunk when I watched it, leave me alone). I mention all this because I want to preemptively fend off any accusations that the reason I didn’t like Twisters is because I’m no fun and only appreciate the kind of highbrow things that would get a gushing review in the Guardian. I like dumb fun, really! But I just didn’t think this film (the first real blockbuster from indie darling Lee Isaac Chung) was quite fun enough to overcome the ordinariness of its script and story.

Twisters follows Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a whizzkid of weather forecasting (no, really) who as an idealistic student worked on a pioneering invention that would dispel the most dangerous of tornadoes. A horrific accident (you’ll never guess what) during her student days spooks her into running away to an office job in New York, until a few years later when she’s lured back into the game by an old pal now working for a questionable tech firm. 

There’s nothing actively irritating about Twisters, but it’s certainly filled to the brim with the cliches common to the disaster genre. There’s a pretty egregious amount of pseudo-scientific babble (I’ve never before in my life heard so much about iodine), a tragic backstory for the tortured lead, and plenty of rooting-tooting red-white-and-blue patriotism about the indefatigable spirit of small-town America. There’s a whole cast of supporting characters that fit into neat archetypes (fish-out-of-water Brit, mad explosives expert, shady local politician) but few of them get enough screen time to develop into anything more substantial. 

A cliche that actually works is the classic (if surprisingly chaste) enemies-to-friends story arc, probably one of the more appealing elements of the movie. Set up as an antithesis to by-the-book Kate is hunky Southern YouTuber Tyler Owens, chasing the same twisters as Kate and her crew but for decidedly unscientific purposes. Initially judgemental of his thrill-seeking ways, over time Kate learns that Tyler and his team care deeply for the communities they travel through. It’s a fun odd-couple dynamic, with some decent humour to be gotten from the interactions between Kate’s straight-laced scientists and Tyler’s lovable band of rogues. The fact that Tyler is played by dreamboat of the moment Glen Powell doesn’t hurt either, and there’s decent chemistry between Kate and Tyler that’s fun to watch evolve as the movie goes on. 

Aside from this appealingly cheesy dynamic, I was disappointed that this film didn’t have more bombastic ridiculousness to enjoy. Obviously what you’re expecting in a movie like this is outrageous action scenes, but I felt Twisters’ take on these was fairly underwhelming. Things do seem to get into gear in the third act with a genuinely compelling sequence, but throughout most of the film I found myself wanting a bit more, well, craziness. There’s one scene in particular that seems to be building up to a pretty explosive climax, only for it to be aborted in the final moments. Perhaps part of the problem is the film’s pretty inconsistent approach to the deadliness of the eponymous twisters. In some scenes we see whole buildings torn asunder by the force of the gales; in others we see Tyler’s muscle car drive directly into the tornado and stay put thanks essentially to two spades dug into the ground. Though logic isn’t exactly top of the list of things you want from an action movie, the uncertain stakes of this movie undercut the audience’s ability to be genuinely invested in the outcome of each action sequence. 

Back in the days when we used to watch actual TV, disaster movies like this were a staple of the weekend fixtures – the original Twister, Dante’s Peak, or even 2012 seemed to be on all the time. I can imagine in that era Twisters taking pride of place on a Friday night, and perhaps it will become a favourite on streaming; it’s inoffensive enough to be a perfectly acceptable way to spend two hours (provided you’re in your own home, where the added entertainment of a loved one or digital device is nearby). But as a summer action blockbuster, Twisters doesn’t quite pack enough of a punch to join the ‘dumb fun’ hall of fame.