[disclaimer: I re-watched "Twister" (1996) about 24 hours before seeing "Twisters"]

"Twister" had multiple excellent "characters", the main cast, the dialog (sometimes cheesy), the tornadoes, and the score/soundtrack. All of these components worked well together, which resulted in a fan favorite.

So what is "Twisters"? Is it a sequel, remake, or reboot? Maybe none of the above. It is certainly similar to Twister, and includes many nods to the first film, but it stands on its own. You would not have to see Twister in order to enjoy Twisters.

The story centers around two competing teams of storm chasers. One is more scientific, and the other seems to be out to just have fun. The goal of the first team is to understand more about how a tornado operates, in order to provide better warnings, and possibly reduce the damage they cause.

I liked the cast well enough, and their dialog was fine, but I wasn't wowed by the tornadoes or the music in the film which, in my opinion, enhanced everything in the original. Maybe it's a genre issue, as Twister had music that leaned more rock, and Twisters has music that leans more country. There are definitely several "edge of your seats" scenes.

Will Twisters also become a fan favorite? Only time will tell. Will I see it again? Yes, probably. Should you see it? Yes, if you enjoyed the original, go see Twisters on a really big screen with really big sound to get the most out of it.

As a big fan of the 1996 original movie,Twister, I was looking forward to watching this contemporary sequel. Given the fact that it is a disaster movie that was going to lean into special effects, the opportunity to see it in ScreenX seemed too good to pass up. (More on the ScreenX aspect at the end of this review)

All the elements for success are there. Attractive and charismatic leads and interesting supporting characters, special effects aplenty, and a story to take those characters from the beginning of the story to its conclusion. It largely succeeded in delivering an enjoyable movie experience and a perfectly suitable summer action blockbuster.

Daisy Edgar-Jones did a very good job as the protagonist, and Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos worked well as competing directions for her to pursue. Powell managed to keep the smarminess evident in 'Anyone But You' in check and reminded me more of his turn in 'Top Gun: Maverick.' Anthony Ramos was not as good in this role as he was in 'In the Heights' but his character isn't nearly as likeable.

As enjoyable as it was, I did get feel like I was seeing the structure of the story as it unfolded. Main character suffers a tragedy which changes the direction of her life. Someone from her past shows up and pulls her back to her previous life, and she's forced to confront her past in order to accomplish something important. That awareness might be a weakness of the movie, but it might be just me.

After watching the movie, I felt compelled to revisit the original. The chemistry between the original tornado chasers was infinitely better, the mix between action and comedy was better, and the soundtrack was spot-on perfect.

However, that does not diminish this movie in any way. While it contained veiled references to the original, it wasn't trying to lean heavily on the original for credibility, and it didn't degrade the original in the process (which is the cardinal rule for sequels). I look forward to seeing this again.

ScreenX Presentation Notes: This is only the second full movie I've seen in the ScreenX format (the first being 'Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning'). I was surprised by the amount of time in which the side projectors were activated, and they were used to good effect. I did find the glare from the projector bulbs distracting when they fired up, but managed to ignore it eventually. The overall improvement was good, but I could have done without it and I don't think it would have harmed the experience any. Given the upcharge applied to shows in immersive audio and video formats, I think my $4 would have been better spent on a Dolby Atmos presentation instead.