My weekly movie reviews. You can also read these on letterboxd.
This week focuses on two new films I saw in theaters.
TWISTERS (2024)
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Worth seeing on the big screen more than any other film I’ve seen so far in theaters this year, TWISTERS is both a good time at the movies and a disappointing cinematic experience.
On one hand, it captures that old school blockbuster vibe: a simple story with big thrills led by a charismatic movie star. It’s fun, smart sounding enough to seem smart but not enough to confuse anyone, and features good-looking people in disastrous circumstances. But regardless of the Glen Powell connection, this is not 2024’s TOP GUN: MAVERICK, a movie that takes that formula and masters it. What that film possesses which TWISTERS lacks is depth and the feeling of true danger. The filmmakers here make a solid attempt to give their characters dimension and they do succeed in making a more mature, thoughtful film than the 90s TWISTER. However, their focus on the female lead short-changes Powell’s character, a cowboy hunk with brains who doesn’t have much going on. It’s a testament to Glen’s incredible movie star potential that he makes the character work, or at least workable, but the movie would be so much better if they’d given him the same male maturity as Cruise’s hero in MAVERICK. And however much they play into Daisy’s guilt and fear, they rush her reversal and redemption, failing to capitalize on a major emotional climax.
But my biggest problem with TWISTERS is that I never felt scared for the characters. I watched the movie from a distance, admiring how well it was made but never feeling any real suspense. For this viewer, the movie failed to make me believe that any of the main characters, especially the two leads, were in any true danger from these tornadoes. That’s what is so good about Tom Cruise’s recent work. In both FALLOUT and MAVERICK, he made us believe that movie stars could die. TWISTERS doesn’t even make you feel that about supporting characters, some of which they should have killed off. Those missed opportunities might have struck true fear in the audience and also pulled on some heart strings. Instead, TWISTERS is just a fun way to spend two hours and sort of like Glen Powell’s smile: nice to look at and disarming.
Watched at Yakima 10 in Yakima, WA
P.S. The way certain people get sucked away like a mothball from a vacuum while others right next to them are somehow able to hold on (sometimes to nothing at all) was silly to me and further ruined the feeling of danger.
TRAP (2024)
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
M. Night Shyamalan’s latest is not what I expected. The trailer, which I tried my best and failed to avoid, hinted at a one-location, nail-biting thriller. Surprisingly, what TRAP lacks most is suspense. After a gradual start, I hoped tension would increase as the titular trap becomes harder and harder to get out of but instead the film (along with Josh Harnett’s cool, calculated performance) moves along at a relaxed pace, with an easy going vibe. Never was I on the edge of my seat, never was I nervous for the protagonist/antagonist. I was only mildly curious as to how he would escape, knowing that he most likely would. It might be the director’s least thrilling thriller.
That said, the film has a few memorable moments and Harnett’s work here is worth seeing. But compared to KNOCK AT THE CABIN and OLD, TRAP is neither as clever or as fun as those two pictures. It feels like a set back for the director, an odd choice after a series of successful TWILIGHT ZONE-like features. But as I wrote in my assessment of his career, Shyamalan has proven that he’s here to stay and that even after a dud or misstep like TRAP, he’ll be back soon with something else that reminds us of why we keep watching his movies.
Watched at Cinemark Century El Con 20 in Tucson, AZ
