These days, it’s never really a surprise when a headline announces that a fan-favorite film released in the ‘90s or 2000s is getting a sequel. Within the past few years, movies ranging from “Scream” to “Top Gun” to “Bad Boys” have gotten sequels. So, it wasn’t at all surprising when the standalone sequel “Twisters” was announced, releasing on July 19, 2024, nearly 30 years after the release of the original 1996 “Twister.” Like every sequel, especially a fan-favorite, there are always high expectations, but they aren’t always necessarily met. “Twisters,” on the other hand, blew the expectations sky high and through the roof. This film has easily taken a spot in my top three movies of all time, despite sitting at a lower-than-average runtime of 122 minutes. There are many breathtaking notes about this movie, ranging from aspects I usually look for in movies to ones I don’t ever really think about.

“Twisters” kicks off with a small prologue in Oklahoma, part of the infamous Tornado Alley, with a group of friends experimenting on tornadoes. After the events of the prologue, the movie temporarily takes place in New York, where retired tornado-chaser Kate Carter, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, is persuaded by her former friend and tornado-chaser Javi, played by Anthony Ramos, to come back home and work with his team on developing 3D scans of tornadoes during a massive tornado outbreak. From that point on, Javi’s team, Storm Par, clashes with a team of “hillbillies with a YouTube channel”—the main character of the tornado-chasing group being Tyler Owens, played by Glen Powell—while also battling the numerous tornadoes that form. The entire plot was something that I enjoyed significantly, and given the choice, I wouldn’t have changed a single thing—including the love triangle that develops between Owens, Carter and Javi. I, like anyone else, am a sucker for a romance trope, and I’m glad that the triangle between the three main characters was more of a subplot, so it didn’t take away from the main storyline. 

Along with the plot, one thing noteworthy in the majority of movies I watch is the actors’ ability to do their job, and the actors in “Twisters” did not disappoint. All actors did an astounding job in showing the complexity of their characters, even those of side characters. However, the most notable in this category are the three main characters. 

First, Ramos did a fabulous job with Javi’s character. He greatly showed how Javi had been the “nice guy” for so long before finally snapping after being treated poorly for almost the entire duration of the movie. Even though, as a viewer, I was upset with Javi when he snapped, it was entirely valid and made me feel for him and his character all the more. 

Powell also did a phenomenal job on the character Tyler Owens. At first, and up front, Owens seems to be just another annoying, over-the-top obnoxious guy whose mere presence is irritating for the rest of the characters. As the movie progresses, though, Powell breaks the character down, showing the depth to Owens that couldn’t be seen otherwise. At the end of the movie, it is evident that Owens is a very complex character with layers, not just some loud guy that is unserious about everything in life. 

Ramos and Powell aren’t the only two who should be credited with their breathtaking acting skills as Edgar-Jones did a stunning job playing Kate Carter. I’ve seen “Twisters” a total of three times since its release, and I hope to see it again at least one more time before it leaves theaters. Still, when I watch this film, Edgar-Jones’s acting almost brings me to tears. Watching as she is affected so heavily by PTSD and seeing how she copes with it makes me emotional each time I sit down and watch it. I found myself empathizing with each of the three main characters but especially with Carter. 

Something else I really enjoyed about this film—something I don’t always pick out when watching movies—was the soundtrack, which jumped to no. 7 on the Billboard 200. Out of all 29 songs on the album, two songs majorly blew up all over social media and the radio—both of which happen to be my favorites from the soundtrack. My favorite song from these two, and, in my opinion, the most underrated, is “Out of Oklahoma” by Lainey Wilson. This song really stuck out to me from the others on the soundtrack because, while they were all amazing in their own ways, this one was just different. Most of the other songs on this soundtrack were upbeat, whereas “Out of Oklahoma” gives off a very homely feeling. The song in itself is soft and slow, which I think really helped contribute to the meaning of being able to leave your hometown—or in this case, state—but knowing it made you who you are and it can never be taken out of you. Even though this song was my favorite on the soundtrack, it doesn’t take away from the remarkableness of the rest of the record, including the face of the movie “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma” by Luke Combs. Rightfully, Combs’s song was chosen by the public as the song of the movie although it was featured for only a very short period of time. This song is very upbeat and gives off the tornado-chasing-in-the-Midwest vibes perfectly. When looking at the soundtrack as a whole, it really is a phenomenal score that helps tie the movie together perfectly.

Each summer, there seems to be a movie or two that takes the world by storm, and this summer, “Twisters” took the cake for many different reasons—from the plot to the acting to the soundtrack. This film was sewn together so perfectly that I wouldn’t have changed a single thing about it. As I said before, this movie has easily taken a place on the pedestal that is my top three movies, so I know I would be crazy to not recommend this film to anyone and everyone. Easily, this movie is a 10 out of 10, and I will recommend it in a heartbeat. And if you don’t go to watch it, I definitely will (again).