WHY COMPARE and CONTRAST?
Back in 1996, a never-before-seen storm-chasing movie was released. The movie was called “Twister”. The movie showcases storm chasers, Helen Hunt as Jo Harding and Bill Baxton as Bill Harding. Bill and Jo are married but are currently working through a stormy divorce, and the only thing keeping them together is a new piece of technology called “Dorthy”. “Dorthy” is a scientific device that releases many small probes into a tornado and relays the information back. The whole reason for “Dorthy” is to increase warning times for people in the path of tornadoes.
Recently in 2o24, “Twisters”, a spin-off of the original movie Twister, was created. The stars of the movie are Glen Powell as Tyler Owens and Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kate Carter. Kate is a meteorologist and storm chaser who has had many previous encounters with tornadoes. Tyler Owens is a Storm Chaser who live streams and uploads his tornado videos online. In the movie, they both chase tornadoes one for entertainment, and one for research, and end up crossing paths many times in the movie.
These movies are strictly for entertainment and have sparked many people’s interest in weather. Even though these movies may not have sparked your interest in weather they sparked a passion inside me, and many Meteorologists who are forecasting for YOU every day.
Spoilers for both Movies Below!!!!!!!
Twister “1996”
Twisters starts off with Jo Harding unfortunately losing her father to an EF-5 tornado. This traumatic experience does not scare her it motivates her to understand more about the weather. She gained her PhD in meteorology and put it to use in storm chasing. Her husband Bill, who is also obsessed with tornadoes, thinks of a new piece of technology named “Dorthy”. “Dorthy” releases hundreds of mini probes that would get launched into a tornado. This potential discovery would lengthen warning times for people in the path of tornadoes.
But, Bill and Jo were going through martial struggles, so Bill, who is not a native of Oklahoma, traveled down so Jo could sign the divorce papers. While they encountered each other they got distracted by their rival Jonas Miller. He claimed that he had the idea of “Dorthy”, or “Dot3”, first even though Bill and Jo were the original creators. The signing of the divorce papers had to wait, as Jo also got distracted by a forming tornado.
The rest of Twister is filled with tornado intercepts, challenges, and drama related to Bill’s fiancee Melissa, Jo, and Bill. These also tensions overlap with Jonas Miller and add more tension to the film the film. The film ends with Bill and Jo being the first to successfully deploy “Dorthy”, while Jonas is unfortunately killed by the same tornado “Dorthy” was deployed in. Still, Bill and Jo celebrate their triumphs and get back together romantically and professionally.
Twisters “2024”
Twisters starts out with Kate and her friends storm chasing trying out her new theory which aims to disrupt tornadoes circulations. Unfortunately, all but one of Kate’s friends, Javi, is killed due to her failed theory. She takes a break from storm chasing and finds a job for many years in New York far from Oklahoma. But it wasn’t long-lasting as her friend Javi convinces her to chase with his new team Storm Par.
The goal of his team is to get 3D scanning of a tornado to find ways on how to disrupt the forming of tornadoes. While they were waiting for a chase to begin at a gas station, internet-famous storm chaser, Tyler Owens shows up. Tyler Owens’s crew and Storm Par are rivals so the chases over the following days are competitive with each side being successful on different days. One night a massive tornado strikes a town and completely destroys it. At that time Kate realized something that upset her. Javi and his team were using catastrophes to profit from struggling families. Kate is upset and goes back to her mom’s house where her old science theory is kept. Tylers Owens follows her and helps her discover what went wrong the first time she tried it. They eventually figure out what went wrong and load up Ownes’s truck with a solution aimed at disrupting tornadoes.
The following day a massive EF-5 tornado is barreling toward a town. Tyler Owens and his team are helping the people in the town take shelter. Suddenly out of nowhere, Javi shows up last minute to help out. Kate realizes that the building in town will not withstand the powerful twister, and she jumps into action. She grabs Tyler Owens’s truck that was filled up with the solution to dissipate tornadoes and drives into the tornado releasing the solution inside. This time it works and Kate is congratulated by all of the surrounding storm chasers.
Similarities and Differences
My Opinion
I remember watching Twister when I was young, it was fascinating. Due to the acting, amazing CGI for 1996, and the innovation I feel like Twister is the better movie. The impact this movie had on many forecasters is still important to this day. The creativity also contributes to the fact that most weather enthusiasts prefer the 1996 movie Twister. While the 2024 movie “Twisters” has many benefits including updated CGI and a better understanding of meteorology it is hard to beat the originality, and nostalgia of Twister.