(Photo Credit: Universal Pictures)
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(“Twisters” trailer courtesy of Universal Pictures)
“Twisters” is an edge-of-seat adrenaline rush.
The movie is also terrifying, yet promising, for people who have lived through natural disasters like tornadoes and hurricanes.
Off top, “Twisters” will dominate the weekend box office globally.
However, with all that Houstonians have experienced over the last two weeks, the movie might not make such a huge impact in the “Bayou City” until a few months from now when it hits streaming services.
Because if Houstonians go too soon to see “Twisters,” they might walk out screaming at the screen like people do at fantastic but hard-to-watch films like Precious, which starred Academy award winner Mo’Nique.
As natural disasters become more commonplace, storm chasing seems to have become even more popular than in the past.
But while many storm chasers just like the thrill of the storm, in “Twisters” Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones) wants to make a difference while studying and chasing storms.
Kate has a brilliant scientific mind.
And she believes she has the ingenuity to discover a way to tame a tornado, preventing it from causing catastrophic damage to the people in its path.
In “Twisters,” Kate even has the right young team with her helping her achieve her goal of taming a tornado.
She has cooked up a concoction that she believes, if shot directly into a tornado, could stop it in its track, which would save many lives.
On the back end, she might even win a lucrative scientific grant for her invention if her hypothesis succeeds.
When she predicts a category one tornado approaching, she gathers her team of scientists, which include people like Javi (Anthony Ramos), and they head out to see if their theory holds up under real tornadic conditions.
Unfortunately, things do not go as planned for the team of young scientists and it devastates Kate, influencing her to chart a new career path that she is not as passionate about.
Houstonians know all too well that category one storms like Hurricane Beryl can cause more devastation than anticipated.
In “Twisters,” Kate learns that hard lesson a little too late to make a difference.
Her new reality crushes her.
The young lady who once had a zeal for preventing storms from wreaking havoc on others, has settled on a desk job in New York predicting weather patterns for the country.
One look at her and it is apparent that she is only there because she must make a living.
Kate has cut off all communications with her old friends.
She does not even visit her family anymore, sending calls from home straight to voicemail.
However, when she gets a surprise visit from Javi five years after last seeing him, he is able to convince her to temporarily help him in a new endeavor that might make Kate’s long forgotten dreams a reality in the very near future.
Javi has become a businessperson thanks to some wealthy investors in Oklahoma.
In a part of the country known as Tornado Alley, the residents in cities throughout the “Sooner State” have seen so much devastation that it is completely heartbreaking.
Unlike hurricanes and tropical storms, tornadoes strike with very little warning, leaving people and property at the mercy of Mother Nature, who can be extremely heartless at times.
While Kate had the theories as a young scientist to prevent tornadoes from reaching their true potential, Javi’s new company has the money and the technology to help warn people of incoming twisters, which could ultimately save countless lives.
However, storm chasers and storm tamers have become just as numerous as natural disasters in the five years since Kate walked away from storm chasing.
Thanks to YouTube, storm chasers like Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) and his crew have made storm chasing into a spectator sport, transforming them into Internet celebrities.
Unfortunately, people like Tyler do not seem too interested in bringing anything of substance to the field of meteorology.
Instead of saving lives, it seems his crew is only interested in shooting off fireworks into the heart of the tornado for their videos to go viral online.
But what is phenomenal about “Twisters” is that the characters epitomize the term do not judge a book by its cover because all the characters have different sides of their personality that might not be obvious at first glance.
“Twisters” has some of the best young talent in Hollywood with Powell and Ramos.
And as is expected, “Twisters” has some of the best visuals.
The movie is so entrenching that it will feel like moviegoers are experiencing the storms with the characters, as they hold on for dear life in a battle against the ruthless elements of nature.
But despite the terrifying scenes, “Twisters” contains much hope that is needed for people who actually experience natural disasters on a regular basis.
Unfortunately, “Twisters” contains some predictability as moviegoers will sense a budding romance coming from a mile away.
Luckily, the characters are likable enough that moviegoers will want a potential romance to come from numerous interactions chasing storms.
In fact, if a person is willing to chase a storm, why would they not be willing to chase romance too?
But the real storms are what makes “Twisters” outstanding.
Just like characters get sucked into the violent winds of storms, moviegoers will get sucked into this movie.
The greatness of the movie, however, will hit too close to home for Houstonians for the time being.
However, when the stress of dealing with Hurricane Beryl subsides, “Twisters” is definitely must-see entertainment.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
