A retired tornado-chaser and meteorologist is persuaded to return to Oklahoma to work with a new team and new technologies. (from IMDB)

For 28 years now, the success of 1996's weather thriller Twister has posed the question as to if we'd ever see a sequel to it or not. Even up until a few years ago, rumors surrounding a long awaited sequel was said to bring back Helen Hunt's character (with her even maybe directing), while Bill Paxton had said back in 2012 he would have loved to see a sequel involving their characters passing the torch to their daughter. (Sadly, Paxton passed way in 2017 due to complications during a heart surgery.) So with a lot of mystery surrounding 2024's sequel-sounding-titled Twisters, many are wondering what to expect. (The movie's title font is also exactly the same as the 1996 original!)

Even while watching Twisters, it was tough to figure out just how connected the film was to the 1996 movie. In the movie's prologue, a group of young stormchasers are testing equipment as a science project. While testing a new theory, one of the team insists the crew use the exact same "Dororthy" device as from the 1996 movie -- complete with an image of Wizard of Oz's Dorothy displayed on the outside of it, and the censors contained inside having official little propellers attached to them. From that point on, nothing relates to the original movie. There are indeed parallels to the first movie with different scenes, but that's where the connection stops. There is absolutely no mention of Hunt's Jo or Paxton's Bill at all.

So what in the world is Twisters then? I'd venture to conclude that this is a standalone sequel of sorts that exists in the same "universe" as the first movie, but contains all new characters with an entirely new story. It's very much like what the original movie might have been if it were first made today. But while the 1996 film is infectiously fun while also being thrilling and exciting, Twisters takes a far more serious - if not even far more grounded - approach. The movie's adrenaline does tend to come to a complete hault at times to build up the characters, but it's enough to help get us invested in them. However, I'd argue that, outside of two or three main characters, the stormchasers this time around fail to leave the impression that the original characters did.

Twister really only showed, or implied, three deaths in that film, but they match that pretty early on in this movie. The stakes are much higher in this one, and the filmmakers aren't afraid to show the life-threatening nature of tornadoes. The love for stormchasing is definitely still exhibited by the film's characters, and it certainly adds to the excitement of the movie. But this time around, the story is surprisingly more complex. The first movie dealt with a group of lovable, independent science nerds chasing after storms for the greater good, while the movie's human villain was a competing stormchaser who had government sponsorships and was only in it for the money. Twisters has some of this for sure, but mixes it up to make some of the lines a little grayer, and some other forces pulling strings on the corporate side. Also, Glen Powell's Tyler is a fame-junkie, replacing Paxton's retired stormchasing hero with a guy who appears to be much more concerned about YouTube views than the science (He even drives a red truck not too unlike Bill's). Toss drones into the mix and Twisters feels so much more made for today's digital world, leaving the original feeling that much more analog (though it definitely wasn't entirely so). In some ways, seeing the extreme social changes (including the way some of the characters present themselves) makes one long for the original, and makes this one feel like a cheap counterfeit. However, as the story progresses, the similarities to the first film separate further and further from each other, till Twisters boldly stands on its own.

The heart of Twisters is Kate, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones (Where the Crawdads Sing). She, too, is like Paxton's Bill in that she has an instinct for weather and knowing the way a storm might move or "think." But like Hunt's Jo, Kate is suffering significant loss, however for her, it drives her away from stormchasing, intending to leave that part of her life behind. As Kate gets inevitably pulled back to Oklahoma (and stormchasing), we continue to learn more and more about her character and her passions, and it's not hard to get drawn into it. Meanwhile, Powell's Tyler becomes completely fascinated by Kate, causing him to distance himself from his "influencer" efforts and try to get to know Kate better. Tyler has the biggest character arc in the story - at first being a guy you want to hate, then becoming one you're rooting for - and Powell does a great job performing the broader spectrum of the character.

One of my favorite things about the 1996 movie was the humor and camaraderie. There is a little bit sprinkled in for good measure here, but there definitely is a noticeable lack of "fun" to this one. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since it helps differentiate the two movies, but while the action and suspense might be a little more intense at times in this one, I think it has big shoes to fill overall. Still, it's obvious - especially with three studios presenting this one: Universal, Warner and Amblin - that there's a big budget behind this film, and it certainly doesn't go to waste. Where the action and devastation often centered around the main characters in Twister, this time we get a closer look at, say, what it might be like to be in a town when a massive tornado hits. Knowing these are real phenomenon in parts of the country make it even more terrifying. (I can imagine some scenes might have some serious triggers for those who have been greatly affected by tornadoes in their lifetime.)

The content for Twisters is tamer in some areas, like profanity, and rougher in others, like the body count and intensity. The first movie let two muffled "F" words squeak by and a steady stream of using the Lord's name in vain throughout. Twisters only uses the "S" word in spurts (with a bunch of them being from Kate in one moment, for example), while the blasphemy is reduced to only a few exclamations of "Oh my G-d" or "Oh G-d." There isn't really any sexual content (although it's kind of implied in two scenes that Kate and her boyfriend sleep together), and the violence only really gets bloody in one instance when Kate suffers a huge, long gash to her thigh (Which is pretty vivid). Aside from another scene where a character has some blood and scrapes on their head and arms, we see some people pulled up into tornadoes, hit with debris, fleeing in terror, and huddling in hopes of evading getting sucked up into the twisters. Again, while the first one did have some intense moments, I would definitely say this one has more, especially with its more serious tone.

If you're fascinated by storms or a fan of the original movie, 2024's Twisters is a surprisingly good standalone sequel to the 1996 film. Whether or not it has what it takes to be as loved in 30 years as the first one remains to be seen, but as it is, Twisters is a good time at the movies.

The long awaited sort-of sequel to 1996's Twister is already available digitally less than a month since it first hit theaters! The digital release is presented in 4K UHD with two small special features that together clock in at just over six minutes.

The special features on the AppleTV digital copy include:

Twisters in Digital 4K: - Not gonna lie; I was pretty surprised by how the picture looks in digital 4K. Aside from being surprisingly grainy at times, the contrast isn't all that drastic, and the color isn't quite as vibrant as one would probably expect. My guess is the forthcoming 4K UHD disc release will look pretty fantastic, and perhaps the Apple digital copy just doesn't quite capture the 4K stream all that well (which is unusual for Apple if that is indeed the case).

As for the movie on a small screen... it's still in theaters, and I can't recommend it enough to see it on the biggest screen possible! I caught it on IMAX twice, and it was impressive (and immersive) both times. Still, the movie is surprisingly pretty solid, so if you're a fan of the original, you probably won't want to miss this new one, even on your screen at home.

Deleted Scenes (2:06) - There are about 3 deleted scenes all lumped together in a short, two-minute montage. First, we see Kate walking out of work in New York to meet Javi at his van, and she agrees to help him for one week only. The next scene shows Kate freshening up in a convenience store bathroom before meeting Boone out in the main part of the store to watch a weather report about how intense the storms are projected to be. Boone makes some random remark to Kate about being "emotionally unavailable." Finally, Tyler and Kate have a little moment while standing on a hill in view of the countryside below, and he wipes some dirt off her cheek. We then see her walking away alone as the rest of the Twister wranglers are seen having fun and laughing in the background. Overall, none of the moments here add all that much to the story, so I see why they were cut. It also makes me wonder if we'll be seeing more deleted footage with a later release of the movie.

Gag Reel (3:59) - This gag reel is kind of your standard blooper reel, but it's a peek into the fun the cast had while making the movie. Aside from line delivery mistakes, the montage includes stuff like the cast randomly dancing on set and acting silly in other ways. (1 "S" word, 1 bleeped "F" word, 1 incomplete "mother--," 3 "Oh G-d," 1 "G-d")