Twisters promotional image
The new Twisters movie, a sequel to the 1996 Twister film, is now in theaters. I had the chance to see it on the Friday of opening weekend.
Friday, July 19 was also Friday of the 15th week in Ordinary Time for the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. Year II, for what it’s worth. That morning at Mass the first reading came from Isaiah 38 and recounted how Hezekiah was mortally ill and going to die. After being told by Isaiah to get his house in order, Hezekiah prayed, and the Lord granted him an additional fifteen years of life. In my homily, I focused on being ready to die, how to get your house in order spiritually, and considered why God gave Hezekiah additional years of life. I proposed as an answer that the Lord still had a greater mission for him to accomplish or that he had things in his life of which he still needed to repent and experience purification.
With that biblical passage and reflection in mind, I was confronted once again with it in the theater watching Twisters. Similar to the original, the film begins with a tragedy that affects one of the main characters for the rest of her life.
Addy, traumatized from the tornado she chased five years ago, and living in New York City, receives a visit from her former colleague and friend Javi who invites her back to Oklahoma to chase tornadoes and help with a study. Addy’s immediate response is, “I’m not that person anymore.” She left that life of chasing thrills and tornados behind after tragedy and loss.
“I’m not that person anymore.”
Javi believes that she is rejecting her innate gift of reading the sky. Then an age-old question is asked, “Why was it us that made it out of there?” Javi and Addy were the two sole survivors among their friend group, before, and this question has haunted and stayed with them every day since. Why them and not me?
By the end of Twisters, both us as the viewer, and Addy the character, discover the answer to that question. Without any spoilers, Addy still had a mission, a mission of kindness and also to finish a major contribution that would impact many lives.
Twisters was an engaging and enjoyable watch. It’s a good reprisal of the classic, with a similar storyline, though much updated, enhanced, and more contemporary. Watch the unfolding of a love story and the rehabilitation of a friendship through personal conversion.
Fr. Looney’s Rating: 9/10—I was engaged with the movie and enjoyed it. Everything about the movie was well done!
