'Twisters' film review: Not quite a category five blockbuster - but still a fun summer flick

A solid trio of main characters power the fun summer disaster sequel 'Twisters' (in theaters starting July 19).

In short: Former tornado-chaser and meteorologist Abby (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is persuaded to return to Oklahoma to work with a new team and new technologies. Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos also star.

Just to get it out of the way: 'Twisters' is very much a standalone sequel to the 1996 original starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton. The sequel only includes a couple of easter egg connections to the original. It's worth noting the fundamental plot similarities between the two movies: both involve scientists trying to deploy some device in the path of a tornado - while a rival, well-funded team is also racing to research the twisters.

Without getting into spoiler territory, 'Twisters' has a lot of fun playing with the concept of who the "bad guys" are in the sequel - but it's always relative to Abby's character and where her headspace is at. Abby is the focal point of what amounts to a pretty focused personal drama about a scientist reclaiming her research after a terrible tragedy. The actual tornadoes are just plot points as Abby returns to roots in Oklahoma after turning her back on her former storm chaser life, only to be drawn back in with the prospect of preventing future tragedies that haunt her.

Despite being a natural disaster action summer blockbuster, the film's biggest strength is its trio of main characters of Abby (Edgar-Jones), her old storm chaser friend turned entrepreneur Javi (Anthony Ramos) and bombastic tornado live streaming tornado chaser Tyler Owens (Glen Powell). Javi and Tyler represent two ends of the spectrum of tornado enthusiasts - with Javi leading a team of scientists trying to learn more about predicting tornado activity and Tyler just all too happy to drive his reinforced pickup truck through the funnel of a storm just for content, likes and subs. Whereas the original 1996 flick broadly delineated between the "good guys" scientists (research for the sake of research) and the "bad guy" scientists (research for the sake of profit), 'Twisters' allows Javi and Tyler the complexities of reckless behavior and soulless opportunists. Javi and Tyler make some questionable decisions throughout the flick, but the script allows them the rope to understand their actions.

It's clear Glen Powell had the most fun playing the brash YouTube star, but Daisy Edgar-Jones is thrown in the emotional whirlwind of a tumultuous homecoming. Edgar-Jones as Abby carries the weight of loss and trauma from years past - but her ability to read the weather is second nature. Edgar-Jones exudes an irrepressible sharpness for meteorology, while burdened by her choices as a young scientist that put her fellow researchers in harms way. Edgar-Jones is pretty great as Abby because 'Twisters' itself has no real antagonist - Abby must overcome her tragedies to truly move forward and Edgar-Jones captures a scientist at odds with herself.

For a tentpole summer blockbuster, 'Twisters' has some underwhelming visual effects, which is pretty disappointing. While 'Twisters' didn't need to be wall-to-wall funnel clouds, the tornadoes themselves actually have pretty limited screentime. And at no point does the vfx ever leave the audience truly awestruck. The scenes are so few and underpowered that 'Twisters' could easily be a movie enjoyed at home. The movie's most compelling scenes are characters interacting and reacting to each other - but not the namesake twisters themselves. Although it's easy to recommend 'Twisters' as a fun bit of natural disaster mayhem, it's definitely not a movie that demands to be experienced on the biggest screen possible ... which feels weird to state about a 'Twister' movie.

Final verdict: Powell and Edgar-Jones power this fun summer flick that could have benefited from more or longer disaster sequences, but is plenty of fun at the theaters nonetheless.

Score: 3.5/5

'Twisters' opens in theaters nationwide July 19. The natural disaster action flick has a runtime of 122 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense action and peril, some language and injury images.