Is it okay for a movie about something as terrible as tornadoes to be… fun?

Twisters has its share of perilous moments and amazing depictions of the devastation a tornado can cause. But it also has a Hallmark-like rom-com element and a Dukes of Hazzard quality as well. 

One Hallmark Channel boilerplate plot has a young woman leaving her small town for the big city, coming back for a visit, meeting a man who initially rubs her the wrong way. But as they keep encountering each other, attraction ensues.

In Twisters, Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones), now working for the National Weather Service in New York, had a frightening tornado experience years ago but is lured back into the plains of Oklahoma to test a new tornado tracking system. She soon partners with Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) a reckless storm chaser who posts his storm videos on social media channels. And off they go!

Will they find tornadoes? Um, if they don’t, there’s no movie here. Will they become a romantic item? Um, if they don’t, there are gonna be lots of disappointed folks when the movie’s over. 

How hot is Glen Powell? Well, he’s hot in that he’s a good looking guy with a great smile and good hair but he’s also hot in that he’s had significant success in movies in the last couple of years. And his work in this film will only add to his appeal to casting directors, not to mention it will add to his future paydays.

How hot is Daisy Edgar-Jones? She’s gorgeous. Cute in a wholesome, Hallmark babe kind of way. (She starred as Kya in the 2022 film Where The Crawdads Sing.)

How good are the effects? While this new movie doesn’t have the money shot of flying cows that made the 1996 Twister buzzworthy, there are numerous scenes that are frightful AND make you wonder… how did they make it look so real? Objects and people do go flying through the air. Minor spoiler: a gigantic blade from a wind turbine plummets to the ground. Yikes.

Just like your computers and cell phones have made gigantic advances in the past 28 years, so have CGI and other movie making magic tools. You may not gasp in amazement at everything but you will enjoy the ride.

When Tyler is introduced, the film’s cool country music soundtrack kicks in. When he drives his pickup truck off road through rough terrain, you may be reminded of the Duke boys and their reckless driving in the General Lee. A rodeo scene lets Tyler inform Kate that he was once a bull rider. And Kate’s down home roots are confirmed when she goes home to the farm to see her mother (Maura Tierney).

Unlike many of the potential perils presented to audiences in movies, tornadoes are real and often catastrophic. I recall videos of the monster that hit Tuscaloosa AL in spring 2011 and then driving through the area of impact a few weeks later. Wow! Just a month after Tuscaloosa was hit, Joplin MO was pounded by an enormous twister that cut a huge swath through that town.

Why do people chase tornadoes? Is it for the adrenaline rush? The urge to tempt fate? Why do any of us do risky things? Twisters director Lee Isaac Chang says, “There’s a contradictory element to tornadoes. They’re so destructive, yet we all want to see them.” Twisters provides all the vicarious tingle I need without exposing me to danger. 

Plus the film has two lead characters who have great charisma and chemistry. It’s rated PG-13 so you can take most all of your family members. It clocks in right at two hours with nary a wasted frame. And, yes, it is a fun movie.