TWISTERS - July - Trailer

[Monterey Jack]

Should have guessed...Spielberg's always had a sheepish, adolescent attitude towards S-E-X in his movies and productions.

[Eric Paddon]

Yeah, you almost think Chrissie was the shark's first victim because it was her punishment for swimming in the nude!

[Monterey Jack]

It's notable that the only Indiana Jones movie where Indy actually gets laid (Last Crusade) has the woman in question turn out to be a Nazi who betrays him.

[Paul MacLean]

Should have guessed...Spielberg's always had a sheepish, adolescent attitude towards S-E-X in his movies and productions.

It is weird. Spielberg’s attempts to depict sexuality have always been awkward — most notably that embarrassing sex scene in Munich (and its total irrelevance to the flashbacks of the Olympic massacre to which it cross-cuts).

[AndyDursin]

Sounds like some issues went on here...

[AndyDursin]

Oops that's the old movie. Variety re edited the headline I grabbed.

[Edmund Kattak]

Oops that's the old movie. Variety re edited the headline I grabbed.

Still, it's an interesting story that I've never heard before.

[AndyDursin]

It is and I hadn't heard it either, which is why I thought it had something to do with this one!

DeBont seemed to have some issues which is likely why he burned out fast. Plus Spielberg reportedly reworked The Haunting and was "hands on" with the reshot ending of that one also.

[AndyDursin]

This one ranked a 7/10 for me. I had some seriously mixed feelings about it to the point where I'd probably have given it a 6 had I not had a crush on Daisy Edgar-Jones and liked the three lead performances in general.

On the one hand, I appreciated there being more of a story, and the performances are really good. Daisy Edgar-Jones I liked in that weird WAR OF THE WORLDS UK series a few years ago -- in fact I mentioned her back in a 2020 thread we had on the show ("The young British girl was attractive" ) -- and she carries the movie. Glenn Powell obviously has star charisma, but the film does a typical "girl boss" turn by making sure he doesn't become that heroic and letting Edgar-Jones' heroine single handedly save the day. Anthony Ramos is very good in the difficult role of her former friend, and the script "remixes" elements of the first movie fairly well conceptually -- it's basically as if Helen Hunt's character starts off working for the Cary Elwes group. (In fact, I wondered if this was written as a prequel to the original TWISTER showing how Hunt and Paxton's characters got together -- then they just dropped it and changed some things around).

What's curious is that, for all its strengths, I didn't find the movie "fun" at all -- in stark contrast to the original, which definitely WAS "fun," this movie has an undercurrent of sadness running throughout it. The Daisy Edgar-Jones character is seriously hurt throughout the entire movie, the tone is not free-wheeling and fast paced. There are a lot of character beats, in keeping with Lee Isaac Chung's past indie work, and it works both ways: the performances have a chance to shine, yet I felt like the movie stayed on that line too long. There was also one flashback too many for me (the 2nd or 3rd time they reference her dead boyfriend, the "video taped memory" in the barn, should've been cut).

The places where TWISTERS also comes up short are the action scenes -- which aren't nearly as well staged and edited as Jan DeBont's predecessor -- and this nagging feeling I had that Chung just couldn't let go and let this movie be what it's supposed to be. This is a big summer movie with two attractive leads. Have SOME fun. Let the movie breathe a little. Instead it felt like Chung was handcuffing it to some serious character drama and couldn't entirely deliver to audiences what they wanted to see. Very few laughs also.

That last scene was telling -- it's not just that they don't kiss, it's that it's a tease on top of it. It reminded me of Gareth Edwards cutting away from Godzilla's reveal in the 2014 movie. I even heard some people groaning as the credits rolled -- and I can't imagine, for a second, this movie tested better WITHOUT that kiss. It's like Chung was resistant in providing what he felt was "cliched" and that he had to reinforce "she doesn't need a man to be happy".

OK fine -- but as well as the movie is doing at the box-office, it could've done EVEN BETTER by having that kiss (might as well restore it for home video; they'll sell more copies!). And the whole film is leading up to it, whether he wants to admit it or not. Sorry Lee -- nobody cares that she's going back to forecast the weekend weather on Long Island. And he's also wrong that the ending is supposed to be about her having restored her interest in weather or whatever -- the movie had ALREADY made that clear. That last scene is about the two of them. Way to fumble at the finish line!

[Monterey Jack]

That last scene was telling -- it's not just that they don't kiss, it's that it's a tease on top of it. It reminded me of Gareth Edwards cutting away from Godzilla's reveal in the 2014 movie. I even heard some people groaning as the credits rolled -- and I can't imagine, for a second, this movie tested better WITHOUT that kiss. It's like Chung was resistant in providing what he felt was "cliched" and that he had to reinforce "she doesn't need a man to be happy".

This seems to be at the root of the recent reticence to show a couple actually...coupling at the end of a movie, like it's sexist to imply that a woman can be strong, independant AND attracted to a stinky man at the same time. Is it a "cliche" for the man and woman to kiss at the end of a movie? Yes, but it's one that people RESPOND to, dammit. When was the last time we actually had a ROMANCE in a Disney animated film? Tangled, maybe? Now it's nothing but sisterhood and not needing to land a man.

...and Spielberg should've provided some guidance beyond just "don't have them kiss at the end, it sends the wrong message!!!" Seriously. "White People Can't Kiss" indeed.

I'm amazed that the two leads were white, to be frank. Yeah, the dead beau Edgar-Jones was mooning over the whole movie was mixed, and you got Anthony Ramos being jealous on the side, but it's hard to remember the last time a big blockbuster like this didn't give us a fashionably diverse pair for the leads.

And he's also wrong that the ending is supposed to be about her having restored her interest in weather or whatever -- the movie had ALREADY made that clear. That last scene is about the two of them. Way to fumble at the finish line!

It's literally a classic "Running to catch a girl at the airport" scene we've seen a hundred times in romcoms of the past...yet it doesn't give us the catharsis of a kiss! Considering that Powell's probably gonna get heavily fined for screwing his truck into the loading zone, you'd think he'd at least get his money's worth.

[AndyDursin]

Exactly!

If they weren't going to use it, they would've been better off cutting it when he gets out of the truck. Let the audience infer what's going to happen. Instead it felt like "let's shoot this a couple of ways, we'll use whatever tests best!" Except they didn't and Steve & Lee got their way instead.

It also gives off the impression it's leading into a sequel -- which cheapened the moment also.