Twisters Reviewed

[SPOILER ALERT—I discuss the opening sequences of both Twisters and The Fall Guy!]

In his book The Poetry Home Repair Manual, Ted Kooser explains that, “if we want to engage our . . . readers, we need to shake off generalization and go for the specific.” Page 93 (2005). He then illustrates the value of the “unexpected, unpredictable detail.” Page 105 (emphasis in original). It is the specific and the unpredictable that lends authenticity.

I was thinking about this after watching Twisters.

I think a single, specific and unpredictable detail would (at least, could) have turned Twisters from a fun movie that I enjoyed watching into a great movie that I want to buy.

The point I’m trying to make is a specific one. And a minor one. I have no interest in bashing this movie. I enjoyed it. I thought the cast was terrific. The acting was great. The CGI was top notch. And the cinematography was so good that I wanted to move to Oklahoma by the time the movie ended (now THAT’S saying something!).

Still, I didn’t love it. I didn’t walk away with the same feeling I got from Top Gun: Maverick. Or from Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Or from The Fall Guy. I may have even enjoyed Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes a little more . . . maybe.

All the elements of a great movie were present in Twisters. All the boxes were checked. Yet something was missing.

I think it was in the opening.

To refresh your recollection, the movie begins with Kate and her plucky team of PhD-seeking tornado chasers trying to kill a tornado by getting it to suck up moisture-absorbent powder. This team includes Jeb, Javi, Praveen, and Addy. Jeb is the love of Kate’s life. He documents the team’s adventures and drives the truck. Javi is the data miner. He hangs back by himself to record and monitor data. Tragedy occurs when Kate’s experiment fails. Praveen and Addy get sucked into the tornado before reaching safety. Jeb dies protecting Kate.

I remember thinking towards the end of this opening sequence that if felt a little long and a little slow. Maybe even a little boring. That’s a problem. But I don’t think the issue was the pacing or the plot points. I think the problem was what didn’t happen.

Kate’s traumatic loss is important to the story. It’s the emotional obstacle that she struggles to overcome throughout the film. We come back to it again and again. The more we like Kate and Jeb, the more we feel the trauma, the more we struggle with her to overcome it, and the more we celebrate when she finally triumphs. The better the movie.

But I didn’t feel that. I understood that Kate was in love. I understood her loss. The movie did a good job of showing us the affection between Kate and Jeb. But I’m not sure we felt it.

That’s where the specific and unpredictable detail comes in. The love and the loss weren’t felt because it was too general. It was too predictable.

Compare this with the opening sequence of The Fall Guy. Here, the relationship between the two main characters—Colt and Jody—is established first by a quick shot of them making out, then by a conversation that takes place almost entirely over walkie-talkies as Colt prepares for his stunt. The kissing shows us the relationship, but the magic is in the conversation.

Taking just a little over a minute, this conversation begins with Colt and Jody pretending facetiously not to know each other’s names. They go on to flirt over the dangers of spicy margaritas. Colt makes fun of the fact that Brits call bathing suits “swimming costumes.” Colt finishes by asking Jody to imagine that the two of them could be together after the shoot, in swimming costumes, drinking spicy margaritas . . . and making poor decisions.

This exchange is short. It's funny. It's charming. And it accomplishes so much. Critical to my point, it's not only showing us the affection between these two characters, but also helping us feel that affection. The specific and unexpected evokes feelings in us. We associate those feelings with the characters. And those associations allow us to empathize with them throughout the film. The deeper the connection, the more we root for them.

This is exactly what was missing in Twisters. Again, we saw the affection between Kate and Jeb. But we didn’t feel it.

I think a small, specific, unpredictable detail (or scene) between Kate and Jeb could have completely transformed this film. Helping us feel connected to Kate and Jeb through their romance would have raised the stakes of the danger. It would have increased the impact of Kate’s loss. And it would have heightened Kate’s eventual triumph.

But, alas, that did not happen. No such detail emerged. I understood the love, the loss, the struggle, and the triumph. But I didn’t feel them. So I didn’t care as much as I could have. As much as I wanted to.

Interestingly, there was a small, unpredictable detail in that opening sequence that helped us feel the relationship between two characters. Just not Kate and Jeb. It was the argument between Kate and Javi that ended with a happy and personalized goofy handshake. That little interaction took about a minute (maybe). And it was important. These are two of our main characters, after all. So the writers saw the need to connect us to them emotionally. I wonder why they didn’t see that need for Kate and Jeb.

Too bad. A small fix could’ve made all the difference.

But what do you think?