Twisters (Collector’s Edition) (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
I can’t even begin to tell you about my love for Twister. Well, scratch that – I have! When the original film was released on 4K in July, I got to share my childhood memories and marvel on the excellent A/V presentation too! You can catch up if you haven’t already with that review HERE. At the same time, Twisters was making a respectable amount of money and praise in theaters. How do Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones compare to Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton? How similar are the stories and what freshness has come to this now franchise of disaster films? Read on below and order yourself a copy by clicking on the cover art at the end!
Film: 
TWISTERS brings back the blockbuster disaster epic with a whirlwind of heart-stopping action and exhilarating thrills. Ever since a devastating tornado encounter, Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) gave up chasing storms across the Oklahoma prairie to safely study them on screens in New York City. Lured back to the field by her friend Javi (Anthony Ramos) and a once-in-a-lifetime scientific opportunity, Kate crosses paths with Tyler (Glen Powell), a charming daredevil and self-proclaimed tornado wrangler whose thirst for tornado-tracking adventures made him a social media sensation. As storm season intensifies with terrifying phenomena unlike anything seen before, Kate and Tyler realize they may need to work together if they are to have any chance of taming, and surviving, an unprecedented outbreak of destructive tornados.
Imagine if you will that Twister was put into a modernizing machine. Imagine the ruggedly handsome cowboy getting more handsome and the tough-as-nails female storm chaser gets even more gumption. Now imagine the rag tag teammates diversifying a bit and becoming more humorous. Now, make the two leads rivals and add some emotional depth and you’ve got Twisters in a nutshell. This is not a knock whatsoever, but the absolute truth. The film takes nearly all of the same beats as the original, and beefs it up with a more diverse cast, and some truly gonzo additions to the implausibility of the events.
In this incarnation, Kate (Edgar-Jones) and her college friends are after a grant to continue their research in how to “tame” tornadoes. Launching the familiar “Dorothy” simulator with the data collecting sensors, as well as a chemical powder into the funnel the team can find ways to make the storms less impactful and continue to find ways to get people out of the danger zone and things can be safer for everyone in tornado alley. Unfortunately, the team save for Kate and Javi (Anthony Ramos) are the only ones to survive a EF5 tornado.
Five years later, Kate works for the National Weather Service in New York and staying as far away from tornadoes as she can. Still in shock from the loss of her friends and boyfriend, Kate can still predict the storms and Javi taking his trauma and wanting to still figure things out takes some military technology he gained from his time in the service to bring more tech research into solving those tornado mysteries. He talks Kate into working for his team, Par, and they go out into the southern wilds to chase the next big cell of tornadoes.
Then there’s Tyler (Glen Powell), a social media famous “Tornado Wrangler” with an equally wily team of kooks in his wake. Armed with a lifted truck, drones, an RV and a van, the team is famous for chasing tornadoes, anchoring the big truck into the ground and launching rockets into the tornadoes that seem to dissipate them. Either way, this is ridiculous and dangerous. Kate sees Tyler’s arrogance and then their competitive spirits kick into high gear and they try to one-up and double cross each other. When a devastating series of events come between the teams and the communities the storms are wreaking havoc on, the two teams then band together for the best to find ways they can put research and daredevil feats together to save tornado alley from the worst.
A blessing and a curse for Twisters is an ability to call back to the original film. Blessing for the nostalgia buffs and a curse when the film relies too heavily on these elements. You’ll smile when Kate says “I’m not back…” to Javi or you’ll nod when a huge tornado causes great destruction on a Rodeo at night like the drive-in in the first film. It’s very interesting to see what story beats that director Lee Isaac Chung and writer Joseph Kosinski took and then also how they incorporate the new elements. I believe that for the most part the film does work. Some new elements don’t work so well. There is a bombardment of modern country music throughout the film. Even fans of the music (admittedly I am not…) will find it hard not to find the aggressive and loud placement of many pop-country tunes throughout the film to be a little distracting. The Tyler character is interesting and fun, but also a little bombastic and ridiculous at first. It’s to be expected and the brashness tones down over time, but it’s a little annoying at first.
There’s a sub-plot for Javi too. He receives funding for his team and research from a real-estate development mogul to do research for his own gain. Frustratingly this is just used as a plot device. The developer shows up from time to time, but then he never speaks and never reveals his plans. Then he disappears. There’s no competitive villain here at the end of the day and that feels a bit like a missed opportunity.
The glue that holds it together for me was Kate. As Kate, Daisy Edgar-Jones shines. She has a great range and even in this film’s more ridiculous moments, she grounds the film. The supporting turn from Maura Tierney as her mother is also a welcome blast of reality. The scenes they share are sweet and remind me of the 1996 film and Jo’s interactions with her aunt Meg.
So, Twisters does have some great moments. At the same time the film stumbles trying to modernize the story. The diverse and varied cast of teammates is fabulous, making the film feel inclusive for 2024 audiences. The ridiculous nature of the daredevil chase scenes is a little overly invasive and can make a realist moviegoers’ eyes roll. I rolled my eyes, and I pride myself on my ability to suspend disbelief. This doesn’t make the film a total loss, and I believe it’s worth a watch. If nothing more, the film does deliver where we want it to. The tornadoes themselves are exceptional, and special effects and sound design are exceptional too. The story moves fast, and it’ll entertain anyone thoroughly who hasn’t seen the original film. For those of us that have seen the original, there will be moments that do fall flat, but just going with it, the film is a lot of fun with plenty to savor for fans of action, disaster films.
Video:
Encoding: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Layers: BD-100
HDR: Dolby Vision
Clarity/Detail: Crystal clear perfection lies within this disc. Digital grain notwithstanding, the film is presented on 4K UHD Blu-ray with excellent clarity. Every bit of dirt, debris and destruction is fully detailed. Close ups reveal clothing and facial textures. Things overall look beyond great as the film comes home on the best physical format possible!
Depth: Leaving nothing in the blurred mindset, depth is handled with a strong hand and shots wide and close both enjoy the same amount of focus and cleanliness.
Black Levels: Dark scenes always look clear and defined with shadow detail showing out in wonderful ways too.
Color Reproduction: Colors are clearly evident in their best forms from fiery reds to cool blues.
Flesh Tones: Flesh tones are natural and normal. Nothing weird here.
Noise/Artifacts: Clean
Audio:
Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible), Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 7.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Dynamics: It would be a travesty if Twisters did not include an excellent audio mix. Thankfully the mix is fantastic. Fully immersive, loud and in-your-face, the film sounds just as it should and that’s beyond a good thing.
Height: Monstrous storm activity comes down on you from above, with the listener going on wild rides with the storm chasers as the weather swirls around you.
Low-Frequency Extension: Bass hits hard for sound effects and that overtly loud country music soundtrack. Punishing and deep, you’ll love to use this a demo disc!
Surround Sound Presentation: Lower surrounds continue the immersion experience with crowd noise, engine roars and gale-force winds invading this sound-space.
Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is easy to hear even in the loudest of moments.
Extras:
Extras are better than your average release too! Included with the bundled Blu-ray, digital code and matte slipcover, you get a 4K disc that has excellent bonus features!
GAG REEL
DELETED SCENES
TRACKING THE FRONTS: THE PATH OF TWISTERS – Trace the trajectory of TWISTERS from its earliest inception to production and get to know the cast as they lead this look into creating their characters, using science to add authenticity, and working through extreme weather wreaking havoc on set.
INTO THE EYE OF THE STORM – Discover how TWISTERS blends practical and visual effects to turn nature’s most destructive forces into entertaining thrills.
GLEN POWELL: ALL ACCESS – Glen Powell provides a private tour of a day in his life on the TWISTERS set.
FRONT SEAT TO A CHASE – Strap in with the cast and professional storm chasers as they brave the elements to track tornados in Oklahoma.
VOICE OF A VILLAIN – Hear the creation of the film’s deafening howls with a seat in the studio where the audio team mixes unexpected sounds to give the storms a new dimension of depth.
TRICKED-OUT TRUCKS – Buckle up for a wild ride in the film’s custom vehicles fitted with unique features ranging from rocket launchers to advanced radar tech.
FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR LEE ISAAC CHUNG
Summary:
Twisters will please fan new to the franchise. Some frustrating things for purists like me aside, the film is fun with a quick pacing and top-notch effects. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell do not disappoint, and you’ve got a wild ride on your hands throughout. The loud country soundtrack will either annoy or allure you, and the missed opportunities can seem overt, but the film is still worth a watch and definitely an own if you love a demo-worthy disc!
