When I first saw the previews for Twisters I think my immediate reaction was well it’s about time. Then I remembered how fond I was of the original Twister screenplay. Iconic characters made up of some of Hollywood’s greats, a storyline everyone could understand, and a poignant drama made all the more real with a monster everyone knows and understands. A true monster plaguing the American heartland from time immemorial bringing with it its annual and universal fear of mass destruction. Stories and how good they are I believe might be in proportion to how much they might believed, and this was a theme Twisters was not going to have issues grappling with. With the original Twister being such a classic I was sincerely hoping Twisters would not mar the reputation of the original and taint it’s goodness with a money grab. Well, my fears have been allayed, Twisters did an excellent job of subverting my expectations, and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie as well as the new cast of characters.

I really enjoyed seeing from the start the inclusion of Dorothy. Though there were no connections as far as the characters from the original movie, it was nice to see the bare minimum inclusion of a prop to connect it to the first movie. Though the overall plot was just about the same as the original, that being a group of weather enthusiasts corralling their skills and using new technology in an attempt to get better warning times of impending tornadoes to save lives and property. Twisters did a great job of making itself a stand alone piece with new characters, character personalities developed as the movie progressed, and an original drama and screenplay which I personally think truly augments and does justice to the original. We now have a great pair of movies which could be watched back to back and enjoyed by anyone simply wanting watch a good movie, or movies.

One of the things I really enjoyed about Twisters I mentioned above, that of subverting expectations. If one takes a step back it’s really easy to see the two movies as mirrors of each other. It was the characters and some great storytelling which are unique to each of the movies but it’s easy to see Twisters used the same shall we say template as Twister and in this situation everything turned out fantastic. A lot of parallels could be drawn between the two movies but don’t get me wrong, they are definitely unique stories with Twisters drawing on all of the good things about the original yet being distinct.

Another thing I really enjoyed about Twisters was how the two “teams” were introduced, and it was really easy to see who the “good guys” were and who the “bad guys” were. As the movie developed however this all gets turned upside down and I was impressed at the way the story ultimately played out. I thought I knew how things were going to turn out and I was pleasantly surprised by turns of events as well as being completely wrong about how things would turn out. The “play” between the two main characters, and you don’t really know who the main characters are in this movie till I would say three quarters of the run time has elapsed. I think “satisfaction” is the word I’m going to use when I ultimately discovered who the good guys were.

When I first saw the previews for Twisters I have to admit I was a little excited but almost as immediately a feeling of bitterness overcame me knowing that once again a cash grab situation might defame another movie loved the world over. Twister was a movie that didn’t need a sequel. It was an all in one package. But in the end, I had nothing to worry about. Twisters was a great movie and did nothing to leave a bad taste in my mouth as far as the original is concerned.

So, if you enjoyed the original Twister, I have a pretty good feeling you’ll enjoy Twisters. I did, and I highly recommend that you go and see it. I was pleasantly surprised.