Back in 1996, Twister turned into a major hit. It earned nearly $500 million worldwide back when that figure seemed daunting and landed in second place at the year’s US box office behind mega-blockbuster Independence Day.

Just as ID4 made fans wait an extended period for a second chapter, the same occurred for Twister. Independence Day: Resurgence arrived in 2016, whereas Twisters hit screens in 2024.

As a grad student, Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones) chases tornadoes with a team of like-minded folks. One attempt to gather data ends in tragedy, and this extinguishes Kate’s desire to interact with weather-related extremes.

Five years later, while ensconced at a safe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration job, Kate’s former colleague Javi (Anthony Ramos) recruits her to head back into the field to conduct research that could eventually lead to saved lives. This returns Kate to Oklahoma, where she deals with wild natural elements and competition from a squad of “professional tornado wranglers” led by cocky Tyler (Glen Powell).

In the category of “Perspectives Confuse Me”, Independence Day: Resurgence went down as a flop while Twisters got chalked up as a hit. What about this perplexes me?

My befuddlement stems from the fact both films cost about the same amount and both films took in about the same amount of money worldwide. Resurgence came with a $165 million budget and a $390 million total take, whereas Twisters cost $155 million and snagged $371 million.

I suspect the difference in perception comes from two factors. For one, I think Resurgence arrived with a lot more hype and higher expectations.

Good old-fashioned “USA USA USA” probably accounts for part of this discrepancy as well. Twisters brought in $267 million of its haul in the States, whereas Resurgence did much better in other territories and topped out at $103 million in America.

Twisters also snagged much better reviews than Resurgence. Whereas the latter earned pans for the most part, critics largely viewed Twisters favorably.

And correctly so, as Twisters becomes a more engaging effort than the second Independence Day flick. That comes as faint praise, however, since Resurgence offered a dull dud. Twisters works better than that clunker, but don’t mistake it for anything particularly thrilling or memorable.

I thought both Twister and ID4 gave us stupid but nonetheless consistently exciting affairs. Twisters doesn’t ever compete with the visceral punch of either flick.

In particular, Twisters never approaches the intense antics of the 1996 movie. It attempts to up the ante but its stabs at disaster flavor tend to feel perfunctory.

Director Lee Isaac Chung’s most prominent prior flick came from 2020’s Oscar Best Picture nominated Minari. A semi-autobiographical character tale, it seemed like a strange “audition” for an expensive summer tentpole action flick.

Other directors made the leap from small personal movies to massive action efforts, but Chung struggles to do so with Twisters. He neither paints a vivid sense of the disaster elements nor brings to life the more personal dramatic elements.

Technically, Twisters exists as a sequel to the 1996 movie. However, it maintains only the most tangential connections.

Honestly, the only link I see stems from one that winks at the audience. In the opening scene, Kate and her colleagues use a device called “Dorothy 5”, a nod toward the “Dorothy” gadgets used to study tornadoes in the first movie.

Outside of that reference and some echoed dialogue, I struggle to locate anything that links the two movies. None of the 1996 actors or characters return, and as far as I can notice, we get zero references to any of them.

In truth, Twisters acts as a de facto remake of its predecessor. While it comes with some alterations, much of the film follows awfully similar arcs and plot points.

Essentially Twisters reshapes the prior flick’s roles. A natural-born stormchaser who ends up at a desk job before lured back into the field, Kate mostly echoes the 1996 tale’s Bill (Bill Paxton), but her tragic backstory brings glimmers of Jo (Helen Hunt) as well.

Whereas in the original, the heroes came from a ragtag bunch, here Kate, Javi and associates act as the “corporate” side of things, especially because their organization receives funding from a broker who buys property in storm-ravaged towns. In contrast, Tyler’s crew come out as “hillbillies with a YouTube Channel”, a team that seems only interested in clicks and merchandize sales.

As one can probably guess from the presence of Powell as the co-billed top lead, this doesn’t stick. Inevitably – and somewhat laughably – the movie flips the tables to make heroes villains and vice versa.

Well, sort of, that is. To its credit, Twisters lacks a primary character who seems as purely unlikable as the 1996 movie’s Jonas (Cary Elwes). While some minor roles fill the “bad guy” part, the sequel gives us less cartoony roles.

Again: sort of. Although it allows for growth among Kate, Tyler and Javi, none ever feel like actual real people. Still, I’ll take the attempts at greater depth compared to the first film as a step up.

Nothing else betters the 1996 picture, unfortunately. The action feels less thrilling and the pacing more turgid.

All that said, I don’t think Twisters ever becomes a bad action flick. Nonetheless, it rarely quickens the pulse and acts as a subpar follow-up to a ridiculous but really exciting movie.

Twisters appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Expect a solid Dolby Vision presentation.

Sharpness worked well at all times. Outside of some footage shot on consumer video for flashbacks, no issues with delineation ever manifested in this tight image.

The movie came without jagged edges or moiré effects, and I saw no edge haloes. We got a light layer of grain and print flaws remained absent.

Unsurprisingly, the film’s palette leaned toward teal and amber. At least these remained somewhat on the subdued side and didn’t seem comical or oppressive. The disc reproduced the hues as intended, and HDR added a bit of zing.

Blacks became deep and tight, while low-light shots offered appealing clarity. HDR gave whites and contrast some extra punch. Across the board, the movie looked very good.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the film’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack also fared well, though I admit it disappointed me. That stemmed from my view that the 1996 Twister offered one of the all-time great soundtracks and the sequel didn’t live up to its exceptional quality.

Not that I’d call this mix subdued, but it lacked the overwhelming intensity of the Twister audio. That one really attacked the listener and placed the viewer among the weather in a manner that didn’t quite click with this Atmos track.

Still, once I got past the letdown that Twisters failed to match with its predecessor’s audio, it worked very well. Though not as impressive as that early track, Twisters still used all the channels in an active and engaging manner.

Of course, this kicked into highest gear during the tornado scenes, of which we got quite a few. Quieter sequences used the spectrum to flesh out environments well, and music filled the speakers with distinctive material.

Audio quality seemed solid, as effects boasted good range and impact. Though without the terrifying roar of the 1996 mix, these components still packed a good sonic punch.

Music felt lush and full, while dialogue sounded natural and concise. As long as you don’t expect a track as good as the one that came with the 1996 movie, you’ll find a lot to enjoy with this mix.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Both came with identical audio.

A true 4K product, the Dolby Vision UHD seemed a bit better defined and also featured improvement colors and blacks. That said, the style of photography limited growth, so don’t expect the 4K to blow away the Blu-ray.

The disc comes with a mix of extras, and these open with an audio commentary from director Lee Isaac Chung. He provides a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, connections to the 1996 film, cast and performances, sets and locations, photography, music, stunts/action, effects and related domains.

Chung offers a satisfactory chat but not one that I think excels. While he covers the production in a perfectly competent manner, the track never quite becomes more than generally decent.

Six featurettes follow, and Tracking the Fronts runs 14 minutes, 53 seconds. It offers notes from Chung, producers Patrick Crowley and Frank Marshall, executive producers Thomas Hayslip and Ashley Jay Sandberg, director of photography Dan Mindel, tornado consultant Kevin Kelleher, set decorator Missy Parker, and actors Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, Glen Powell, David Corenswet, Brandon Perea, Katy O’Brian, Harry Hadden-Paton, Sasha Lane, Tunde Adebimpe and Maura Tierney.

“Fronts” examines aspects of the first movie and the move toward the sequel, cast and performances, research, what Chung brought to the project, shooting on film vs. digital, and locations. A few good details emerge and we find a nice look at the shoot but much of “Fronts” feels fluffy.

Into the Eye of the Storm lasts 24 minutes, seven seconds. We hear from Powell, Edgar-Jones, Ramos, Chung, Perea, Parker, Sandberg, Hayslip, Lane, visual effects supervisor Ben Snow, special effects supervisor Scott R. Fisher, compositing supervisor Ben O’Brien, ILM VFX supervisor Florian Witzel, production designer Patrick Sullivan, supervising stunt coordinator/2nd unit director Casey O’Neil, VFX department supervisor Joakim Arnesson, and actors Nik Dodani, Kiernan Shipka, and Daryl McCormack.

With “Eye”, we cover various effects, stunts and action, set design and dressing, research and the depiction of tornadoes. Despite some of the happy talk from the prior piece, “Eye” digs into technical domains pretty well.

Next comes All Access, a three-minute, 12-second piece in which Powell leads us through a typical day on the shoot. Nothing especially interesting results, though we do get to meet the actor’s parents.

Front Seat to a Chase goes for five minutes, 16 seconds. It involves Powell, Kelleher, Perea, storm documentarian Sean Casey, NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory’s Dr. Sean Waugh, and meteorologists Dr. Jana Houser and Justin Walker.

“Chase” discusses the work of real-life storm chasers and meteorologists on Twisters. We get a short but informative reel.

After this, we go to Voice of a Villain. This six-minute, 16-second featurette gives us notes from Chung, supervising sound editors Bjorm Ole Schoeder and Al Nelson, re-recording mixer Christopher Boyes, sound effects editor Benjamin A. Burtt, foley artists Ronni Brown and Jana Vance, and assistant supervising sound editor Sarah Shaw.

During voice, we learn about the movie’s audio. It fills out the topic well.

Tricked-Out Trucks comes next. It lasts four minutes, 31 seconds and offers info from Chung, Powell, Fisher, Ramos, Waugh, art director Jessie Haddad, and picture car coordinator Rick Collins.

As the title implies, “Trucks” details the movie’s special vehicles. Expect another moderately engaging reel.

Three Deleted Scenes occupy a whopping two minutes, four seconds. They offer minor character beats and nothing more.

Finally, a Gag Reel occupies three minutes, 57 seconds with the usual goofs and giggles. The collection of clips seems forgettable.

A second disc delivers a Blu-ray copy of Twisters. It features the same extras as the 4K.

28 years later, Twisters fails to recapture the crazed action of its 1996 predecessor. More remake than sequel, the movie doesn’t sink but it also never really clicks or becomes especially exciting. The 4K UHD boasts strong picture and audio along with a pretty long roster of supplements. Twisters turns into a disappointing follow-up to the silly but thrilling original.

To rate this film, visit the prior review of TWISTERS