Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews

The sequel that no one asked for but seemingly everybody enjoyed, Twisters takes advantage of decades of advances in meteorology and special effects technology to bring us a modern take on feisty storm chasers in the American Midwest. Beyond tracking or simply better understanding extreme weather, this time a brilliant young scientist (Daisy Edgar-Jones) has devised a theory on how to actually dissipate tornadoes, potentially saving countless lives. She’s drawn back into her adventurous former life by an old friend with a dark secret (Anthony Ramos), but will a daredevil social media star (Glen Powell) who is more than he seems turn out to be her biggest opp or her greatest ally? Despite some false starts and an abundant use of “You got this!” and “Wooooo!” Twisters is a lot of fun, honoring the original with intense action and colorful characters while taking us someplace new.

Director Lee Isaac Chung (Minari) chose to shoot his movie on 35mm film, giving the sweeping Oklahoma vistas an organic beauty. The red dirt roads pop against the green grass (some digitally replaced because it wasn’t performing properly on camera) and the color is eerily desaturated when the atmospheric conditions grow ominous. Rain and mist—genuine and simulated—can be quite faint but they add much to the desired mood. Dolby Vision HDR highlights, as when a truck’s headlights can be seen driving into fog, add welcome realism. The only issue I encountered was some judderific fast-action pans in several scenes.

The story is all about the great outdoors, and so the Dolby Atmos soundtrack here is fittingly big and busy. Did I mention that there are tornadoes in this movie? Outstanding surround activity is the baseline and this movie exceeds expectations with its layered, snarling whooshes and howls. And because those aren’t enough, there are some rockets, too, and it all comes alive with generous exploitation of the height channels and the LFE.

Both the 4K and the bundled HD Blu-ray discs carry the same soundtrack and all of the same bonus content, and on the Ultra HD platter the video extras are even in 4K: deleted scenes, a gag reel and short featurettes that cover multiple aspects in a quick but thorough way, in addition to a director commentary.

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Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, 2024
ASPECT RATIO: 2.39:1
HDR FORMATS: Dolby Vision, HDR10
AUDIO FORMAT: Dolby Atmos with TrueHD 7.1 core
LENGTH: 122 mins.
MPAA RATING: PG-13
DIRECTOR: Lee Isaac Chung
STARRING: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, Kiernan Shipka