WARNING: Major spoilers for Twisters ahead!After 28 years, theTwisterfranchise is finally continued the 2024 disaster blockbusterTwisters, naturally inviting comparisons between the two movies.Twistersis a sequel to the 1996 original, but makes very little mention of the original movie outside the storm-tracking technology used and its naming conventions.Twisteris considered a benchmark movie in special effects, and it earned Academy Award nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound. That ground-breaking moviemaking helped makeTwisterone of the highest-grossing movies of the 1990s.
To truly compare the two movies, they need to be viewed through an objective lens with regard to the massive time gap between their release dates. For example,Twistersof course had more impressive CGI thanTwister, but only because CGI has evolved so much in the last 30 years. It’s better to look at the less technical elements of each film, and compare them based on the merits of those elements.The ending ofTwistersechoes that of its predecessor, and there are enough common threads in the stories to warrant a truly fair comparison between the two movies.
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Twister vs. Twisters: Which Has The Better Story
Both Deal With State-Of-The-Art Weather Technology
In terms of story,Twistersessentially begins as a continuation of the mission laid out inTwister. While Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton’s Jo and Bill Harding aim to collect never-before-seen data from inside a tornado to enable a better warning system, Daisy Edgar-Jones' Kate Carter aims to use that very same data to potentially disrupt a tornado. Both stories are also comparable in that they feature a main character who has lost loved ones to tornadoes, although where that drives Jo Harding inTwisterit’s a source of fear and hesitation for Kate Carter inTwisters.
While Bill Paxton’s death in 2017 made his return impossible, Bill Paxton’s son James Paxton plays the angry motel guest who Kate and Tyler attempt to save from the tornado outside the rodeo.
Twistersalso revitalizes the idea of two competing storm chasing teams, pitting Tyler Owens' experienced group of guerrilla storm chasers against Javier’s highly-educated military-grade storm chasers.Twisterreflected this dynamic with the Hardings' upstart homemade science and technology against Cary Elwes' Jonas Miller and his corporate-funded team. Finally,both stories involve their main characters battling multiple deadly tornadoes before ultimately succeeding in their respective missions; Jo is able to collect the data she sought and Kate successfully breaks up a tornado.
While the stories are comparable,Twistershas the more well-rounded and complete narrative. There are more fully realized characters in the modern movie, as Glen Powell’s Tyler Owens and Daisy Edgar-Jones' Kate Carter simply have more depth than Helen Hunt’s Jo Harding and Bill Paxton’s Bill Harding. The twist (no pun intended) that Tyler Owens' team has pure intentions while Javier’s Storm PAR team is working for a corrupt land baron provided an interesting shift in the movie’s second half, and helped both Tyler Owens and Kate Carter’s characters show some true growth.
Twister vs. Twisters: Which Has The Better Cast
The Top Stars For Each Movie Are Household Names
Helen Hunt may not have returned forTwisters, but her influence was still felt in the continued use of theWizard of Oz-related names for the scientific equipment used by Kate and the Storm PAR team. Hunt was at the head of a memorable cast that was part of whyTwisterwas such a big hit at the box office.It acted as a star-making turn for both Hunt and Bill Paxton, and included a number of other big-name actors and actresses early in their careers, including Jami Gertz, Jeremy Davies, and future Academy Award winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
Twisteralso included some true A-listers, even if they weren’t quite at legendary status at the time of the movie’s release in 1996. Cary Elwes was already an icon thanks to his leading roles inThe Princess BrideandRobin Hood: Men In Tights, Alan Ruck was famous for his portrayal of Cameron inFerris Bueller’s Day Off, and Lois Smith had four decades of filmography under her belt at that time. In retrospect, it was a truly impressive cast that helped make the movie a huge success.
Kiernan Shipka
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Twistersappears as if it will have an eerily similar impact for its cast. Just as Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton were in 1996, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell are right on the cusp of being household names, andTwisterscould push them over the top.The supporting cast is also filled with talented up-and-comerslike Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Sasha Lane, Katy O’Brian, and David Corenswet. Time will tell if this cast achieves the heights of its predecessor, butfor nowTwisterhas the superior cast.
The Action And CGI For Twister Hold Up Surprisingly Well
The talented crew behind the practical and special effects of Twister changed the gameas far as disaster films are concerned. Thanks in part to a gargantuan budget, they were able to put massive funnels and waterspouts, explosions, and storm damage onto the screen that still hold up 28 years later. The storm-chasing sequences are exhilarating, and the tornadoes feel truly dangerous as they rip across the screen.
However,Twistersmanages to match the action ofTwister, and take it to the next level. While it does have the advantage of advances in CGI, the concepts of the dual tornadoes, the massive fire tornado that forms over the oil refinery, and the tornado sequences that take place at the rodeo and in the small town in the movie’s finale are all superior to what was seen inTwister. Simply put,Twisterstook the best parts of the action inTwisterand made them better.
Why Twisters Is Better Than Twister
It’s A More Complete Summer Blockbuster
There is no denying thatTwisteris an iconic movie in the disaster film genre, and a landmark in the development of special effects in American cinema. It has aged particularly well, and still stands as one of the top disaster films of all time. However, the 28-year gap betweenTwisterandTwistersgave director Lee Isaac Chung time to get every little detail right when it comes to elevating what made the first movie so great.
Twistersis a tremendous stand-alone disaster film that nails every part of what’s expected from a strong summer blockbuster.
Twistersincludes a strong and engrossing narrative anchored by an extremely talented cast of young actors (and Maura Tierney, who elevates just about anything she appears in). It has heart-stopping action sequences built upon very strong modern CGI techniques. It has characters with true depth, who truly grow and change over the course of the movie en route to satisfying character arcs. Perhaps most importantly,it honors the originalTwisterwithout ever feeling like a simple remake;Twistersis a tremendous stand-alone disaster film that nails every part of what’s expected from a strong summer blockbuster.
The Argument For Twister Being The Better Movie
The Legacy Of The Original Can’t Be Ignored
Following the footsteps of other modern sequels released decades like the original such asTop Gun: Maverick,Twistersmanaged to surpass 1996’sTwisterin many ways. The effects were better, the story felt more coherent, and even thesountrack toTwistersfelt more carefully selected and memorable (opting for plenty of bluegrass and country instead of the alternative rock themes thatTwisterand dozens of other 90s movies had).However, whileTwistersis seen by most viewers as an improvement, it’s still far from difficult to argue thatTwisteris the superior movie.
Firstly, there’s the obvious point that, withoutTwister,Twisterswouldn’t exist.It’s due to the popularity ofTwisterthat the 2024 sequel was highly anticipated.Even with the advanced CGI, there’s every chance thatTwisterswould have simply been disregarded as yet another disaster movie were it not for the fact that it was a follow-up to the 1996 hit.
There have bene plenty of tornado movies sinceTwisters,such as 2014’sInto The Storm,2011’sTake Shelter,and 2023’sSupercell.WhileTwisterswas a hit, it arguably doesn’t do much that other tornado movies don’t.Its success at the box-office can’t be said to be because of its special effects or story, as impressive as both were. It owed an incredible amount to the legacy ofTwister,which surpassed all expectations when it was released in 1996. The reason so many viewers flocked to theaters wasn’t to go and see a new film about tornadoes - it was because they wanted, specifically, to see the sequel toTwister.
Another reasonTwistercan be seen as the better film is that it was more innovative for its time. The CGI inTwistersis impressive, and its tornado scenes are genuinely jaw-dropping, though they also aren’t necessarily groundbreaking. The same isn’t true forTwister.While technologically simpler, the tornado moments inTwisterdelivered something that 1996 audiences simply hadn’t seen before, and it deservedly received Academy Award nominations for Best Sound and Best Visual Effects as a result.
Twisters,as well as other tornado and disaster movies that followed, such as 2004’sThe Day After Tomorrowor 2021’s13 Minutes,all owe a great deal toTwister.The 1996 original arguably wrote the blueprint for how to best depict the thrill and danger of tornadoes effectively on the big screen. For innovation,TwisterbeatsTwisterswith ease, and it’s almost impossible to argue otherwise. WhileTwistersmay be seen as the superior viewing experience thanks to its modern glow-up, it’s impossible to ignore that it still has a long way to go to top the legacy ofTwister.
Twisters
Cast
A follow-up to the 1996 original film Twister, Twisters is a sequel set years after the original, said to be fast-tracked by Steven Spielberg and Mark L. Smith, with Frank Marshal as producer. Little details exist about the film, but Helen Hunt is expected to reprise her role as Jo, with the film likely to pay homage to the late Bill Paxton.
