Is 'Twisters' good, and is it realistic?

People have been asking me if the movie "Twisters" (July 2024) is good, and if it's realistic. They did the same after "Twister" was released in 1996.

Good? I have to take my storm chaser hat off and think about this question as just a fan of cinema. "Twisters" is actually pretty good as an action-adventure movie, mostly because the villain is not human or an alien. It is unique in that way. Maybe more like, "Jaws" (1975). Man versus nature. And, I appreciate the lead stars not kissing at the end. Instead, they just turn around and head out for another storm chase. That's kind of cool.

Is it realistic? Almost nothing in "Twisters" emulates real storm chasing. If you look closely, you'll see a storm chaser wearing a tan T-shirt that says, "Tempest Tours" on it. That's our "Tornado Wrangler" T-shirt, and it is real. But, driving across open fields is not real. In the real world, you would get stuck. And, driving into tornadoes multiple times and surviving them is pure Hollywood. I just hope moviegoers don't believe that and try something similar when the tornado is real, and not CGI.

Shooting rockets filled with silver iodide into tornadoes? Two issues with this. To shoot anything into a tornado, from a car, with any accuracy, would require one to be dangerously close. Second, any substance small enough to fit into those tiny rockets are not going to have any effect on a tornado.

Releasing drums filled with sodium polyacrylate to “rob” the tornado of its “fuel"? This concept is so random and scientifically silly that a lot of people might actually believe it. Sodium polyacrylate is an absorbent polymer that is used in hair products and for many other uses. Think of it as cornstarch on steroids. Want a super thick gravy? To remove all of the moisture from a tornado with sodium polyacrylate would require a whole lot more than a just bunch of drums on a trailer being pulled by a Dodge RAM pick-up truck. And, let's say you were actually successful at removing the moisture from a tornado? Big deal. It's still spinning. The moisture inside a tornado is irrelevant. The kind of tornadoes portrayed in "Twisters" are produced by supercell thunderstorms. THEY require lots of warm, moist air for fuel. You'll need to impact THAT. And for THAT, you're going to need a RAM VAN!

ABOUT: Martin Lisius has been chasing storms since 1987. He is the founder of Tempest Tours Storm Chasing Expeditions, the StormStock weather and climate footage collection, and recently wrote and directed a documentary film about storm chasing titled, "The Chasers of Tornado Alley: Touching the Sky" (July 2024) which can be viewed at https://www.realstormchasers.com