This film is being described as a sequel, but there isn't much narrative connection to the 1996 blockbuster. It's instead a remake or reboot. A lot of the plot and character dynamics are similar. It's been nearly 30 years since that visual effects bonanza, so there's a whole generation who have never seen that 1996 film or even heard about it till now. For those of us who had seen it, there are some comparisons. I'm of the conclusion though that this new one isn't as good as the 1996 hit. This is essentially an action thriller with a dash of romance thrown into it. Yet, the action thriller here doesn't have thrills and the romance is rather lame. I couldn't have been more bored watching this film. I was straining for any engagement and for some kind of personality, but I couldn't find it here. I'm a bit biased also because at this point I'm not taken with Glen Powell as a so-called "movie star."
Powell (Hit Man and Top Gun: Maverick) plays Tyler Owens, a former bull-rider who also studied meteorology. He now has a YouTube channel where he broadcasts live himself and his team riding into tornadoes in Oklahoma. When we first meet him, he seems like a jerk and a bit creepy, especially in regard to the main character, a woman who is also a meteorologist. It's doubtful that he would be so smitten, if she weren't a woman and this film didn't have to quickly build a romance between the two characters who are essentially strangers. The film gives him an aspect that reveals he does charitable things for people affected by tornadoes, but it doesn't change the fact that he's mostly a cocky jerk and creepy guy for the majority of the time.
Daisy Edgar-Jones (Where the Crawdads Sing and Normal People) stars as Kate Carter, a meteorologist who works for the National Weather Service in New York City. She was born and raised in Oklahoma. A friend of hers comes to New York in order to convince her to return. He asks her to help him with a project where he believes he can gather crucial data about tornadoes, but he needs her help to predict where the tornadoes are going to form because Kate apparently has a sixth sense about predicting tornadoes. She doesn't want to return because friends of hers died in a tornado for a project where she thought she could minimize or stop tornadoes after they've formed.
Once she returns to Oklahoma, Tyler basically starts stalking her. He attempts to be charming, but he's just annoying and creepy. I know that this is a tactic in a lot of romantic comedies or films with any kind of romantic angle. The two love interests start out hating or being annoyed with each other. This is typical of screwball comedies. Here, Tyler definitely annoys Kate. It's meant to be cute, but it just felt like a total turn off. It was better in the 1996 film because the two equivalent characters had more of a history. They weren't unknown to each other. Here, Kate and Tyler are unknown to each other, so it's a steeper hill to climb or more hurdles to overcome in order to accept their romance, which I didn't.
Anthony Ramos (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and In the Heights) co-stars as Javi, a storm chaser who has made a living following tornadoes. He initially joined the military after school, but he went on to start his own company called Storm Par, which is getting funded by a large investor and that's paying a group of scientists to chase storms. He was friends with Kate before she left to New York. He's the one who recruits her to come back to Oklahoma. They are the ones who have a history together. If I were writing this film, the romance felt like it should have been between Kate and Javi. For a moment, it almost seems like the film will lean in that direction. The first half of this film are scenes between Kate and Javi, so it's less of a steep hill or less hurdles to overcome. Plus, Kate and Javi have better chemistry together because Javi isn't a jerk or a creep unlike Tyler.
It's doubtful that anyone would come to this film for the romance, no matter how good or lame it was. Most would likely come for the action and the visual effects of tornadoes causing crazy destruction. The action though felt weightless and lacking in stakes. Literally, Tyler and his team drive into tornadoes. Tyler has a truck that can dig into the ground, which allows him to drive into a tornado and not be afraid of being sucked into the sky. There seems to be this reverence for tornadoes, which some of the characters in the 1996 film had, but if there's no fear from Tyler or any of his team, then that takes away a bit of the thrills. It's also odd because Tyler is seen as being sympathetic to the victims of tornadoes, yet he's so brazen and nonchalant about literally driving his truck into one.
Daryl McCormack (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande and Peaky Blinders) is one of the supporting characters here. He plays Jeb, the boyfriend of Kate when she was in Oklahoma and a former storm chaser. Kate is meant to fall in love with Tyler, but he just doesn't compare to Jeb. McCormack is African American and Irish. He's 6-foot-2, so he's taller than Powell. He's also in just as good, if not better shape physically. His character also isn't a jerk and a creep toward Kate, so to me, it's a step down for Kate to go from Jeb to Tyler. I simply wish McCormack were in the film more.
Rated PG-13 for action, peril, some language and some injury images.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 2 mins.
In theaters.