‘Twisters’ Is Great Because It’s Just the Right Amount of Nostalgia Bait FSalinks

The notion that Hollywood is obsessed with sequels is certainly not a new one. However, the terms “legacy sequel” and “soft reboot” have been used much more frequently in recent years to indicate a new way to continue franchises that had been popular decades prior. In general, “legacy sequels” serve as a “passing of the torch” moment to a new generation of characters, and often involve direct connections to (or even appearances by) the cast of the original film. While there are certainly many homages to what director Jan De Bont did in 1996, Twisters works as a standalone sequel to Twister that doesn’t bait the viewers with obvious nostalgic references.

The “legacy sequel” model clearly has its limits. While occasionally a film like Top Gun: Maverick or Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens will break the trend and become significant box office and critical hits, more often than not, younger audiences don’t seem to care about the properties that were popular for their parents’ generation; a series of disappointing sequels like Terminator: Dark Fate, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Halloween Ends, Independence Day: Resurgence, and Space Jam: A New Legacy were unable to court in a new generation of viewers. However, Twisters was able to take the right qualities of the first film in order to satisfy both first-time viewers and those that grew up with the original.

Twisters

An update to the 1996 film ‘Twister’, which centered on a pair of storm chasers who risk their lives in an attempt to test an experimental weather alert system.

Release Date

July 19, 2024

Runtime

117 Minutes

Writers

Mark L. Smith , Joseph Kosinski , Michael Crichton , Anne-Marie Martin

prequel(s)

Twister

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‘Twisters’ Didn’t Rely on Obvious Family Ties

One of the most common trends in “legacy sequels” is trying to introduce a younger character who has an overt familial connection to one of the original heroes. More often than not, this results in a situation like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, in which audiences are clearly more interested in seeing the further adventures of Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones than they are invested in Shia LaBeouf as his underdeveloped son. However, Twisters doesn’t need a link to the first film in order to get viewers emotionally engaged in the story. The movie sets up a specific reason why Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones) wants to chase down storms, and why this results in a rivalry with the erratic YouTube star Tyler Owens (Glen Powell).

Twisters chooses to reiterate character archetypes instead of actually bringing back legacy characters. Instead of trying to find some half-hearted ways of explaining that Bill Harding (Bill Paxton) had a secret child who grew up following the same line of work that his father did, Owens is there to fulfill the same compassionate, yet adrenaline-seeking sense of charisma that Paxton did. Similarly, the early moments detailing the tragedy that initially inspired Kate to take a break from storm chasing is a clear callback to the similar events that Jo Harding (Helen Hunt) went through in the original film. These scenes are structured around new characters, so they don’t feel entirely derivative; that being said, fans of the original Twister may appreciate that director Lee Isaac Chung has respect for how carefully constructed the first film’s story beats are.

‘Twisters’ Makes the Right Connections to the First Film

If it wasn’t named Twisters, it would be easy for Chung’s film to stand alone as a completely original disaster film. However, Chung incorporates the perfect balance of homages and avoids bombarding viewers with niche references. One of the most iconic moments in the original Twister is the famous disaster scene that takes place amidst a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s horror movie, The Shining; Twisters features a similar scene in which Kate and Tyler have to move people to safety in a small Oklahoma town by putting them in an old movie theater. That’s not to say that Twisters is entirely reliant on precious setpieces — the inclusion of modern technology, such as drones and advanced surveillance footage, allows Twisters to show how much the science has evolved.

Twisters is a smart legacy sequel because it respects the themes of the first film instead of just rattling off its most iconic lines. One of the most important storylines in the first film involves Jonas Miller (Cary Elwes) ignoring the advice of his scientists, who claim that the tornado is changing direction. Similarly, Twisters creates a compelling third act conflict when Kate and Tyler realize that Scott (David Corenswet) is attempting to collect information in favor of preventing collateral damage.

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‘Twisters’ Doesn’t Require Prior Knowledge — and That Helps

Twisters is poised for success because it doesn’t require knowledge of the first film to be enjoyed. One of the issues that many summer blockbusters this year have faced is that viewers may feel like they need to do “homework” before buying their tickets; it would be hard to fully enjoy Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga for those that hadn’t caught up with Mad Max: Fury Road, and some of the references in The Fall Guy may have been lost on those who weren’t aware of the original series starring Lee Majors. The winks and nods to the first film are an added benefit for Twisters, but there’s not any extensive lore that viewers need to understand where the narrative is heading.

Twisters succeeds where other legacy sequels fail because there is distinct passion from the filmmaker. Too often, young independent filmmakers are swept up by the studio machine and forced to make blockbusters that don’t reflect their true interests as storytellers. Those that have seen Chung’s Oscar-winning drama Minari know that he’s interested in telling relatable stories about America’s heartland, so it’s not a surprise that Twisters was a property that appealed to him. If more legacy sequels are to succeed, they will need this personal touch.

Twisters is in theaters now.

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