This year, big movies are back in a big way. And the biggest of them all so far has to be Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones's new epic, Twisters.
I adore this movie so much but it must be said: Twisters was almost the perfect tornado rom-com until it failed to stick the landing.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. What is this movie about? Well, twisters... duh!
More specifically, Edgar-Jones plays gutsy retired tornado-chaser and meteorologist, Kate, who ventures to Oklahoma to investigate the intensity of tornados decimating towns across the state.
While she's there, Kate crosses paths with a tornado-chaser celebrity (not kidding) named Tyler (Powell, naturally). Of course, an enemies-to-lovers storyline unfolds all while they're trying to not like, die.
So like I said, it's a tornado rom-com. Oh by the way, this article will cover some spoilers from Twisters so if you haven't watched and are averse to spoilers, avoid reading further.
Watch the trailer for Twisters. Post continues after video.
Like all good rom-coms, the entire film is about the romantic energy building between the leads, culminating in their first kiss before the credits roll. However, this kiss does not happen.
The director, Lee Isaac Chung, knows what he's doing too. The movie ends with Tyler running through an airport to stop Kate from jumping on a flight, a classic rom-com trope that always ends in a dramatic kiss.
As the tornado specialists are about to smooch, they get a weather alert, which serves as a cheeky wink to the audience that the twisters... are still twisting.
No kissies! They've got twisters to untwist! This could be forgiven if not for one small detail: they actually kissed while filming the scene.
Powell and Edgar-Jones engaged in a lengthy smooch session that has been shared online and oh boy, it's damn hot.
This means that at one stage, the film was indeed going to end in a kiss, but Chung wanted a few options so that he could decide post-filming how to end the movie. And he ultimately decided to play the moment off for comedy rather than as a romantic ending.
A bit cheeky!!!!
So what do the film's stars and director have to say?
Powell initially joked to Entertainment Weekly about why the kiss was cut out. "I'm taking a little offence that they didn't want to use it. Maybe it's just my abilities, I don't know," Powell quipped.
In a more serious interview with Collider, Edgar-Jones and Powell revealed that Twisters executive producer, little known indie director Steven Spielberg, had influenced the call.
"I think it's a Spielberg note, wasn’t it?" Edgar-Jones said. "I think it stops the film feeling too cliched, actually. I think there's something really wonderful about it feeling like there's a continuation. This isn't the end of their story. They're united by their shared passion for something."
Powell went on to claim that Twisters shouldn't be taken as a love story. Rude tbh.
"This movie is not about them finding love," he said. "It's returning Kate to the thing that she loves, which is storm chasing. So that's what you have at the end of the movie... I feel like a kiss would be sort of unrepresentative of the right goal at the end of the movie. And it is a good Spielberg note. It's why that kid is still in this game."
Director Lee Isaac Chung revealed that the kiss version of the ending performed poorly with test audiences.
"I feel like audiences are in a different place now in terms of wanting a kiss or not wanting a kiss," Chung told Entertainment Weekly. "I actually tried the kiss, and it was very polarising — and it's not because of their performance of the kiss."
He continued, "This [no-kiss shot] was the other option that I had filmed on the day, and I got to say, I like it better," Chung said. "I think it's a better ending. And I think that people who want a kiss within it, they can probably assume that these guys will kiss someday. And maybe we can give them privacy for that."
Or... their kiss will just be leaked online for the masses to enjoy either way lol.
There's no denying that Powell and Edgar-Jones have sizzling chemistry in Twisters, as she played a wise-talking meteorologist to Powell's loose-mouthed charismatic 'tornado wrangler'.
It was a perfect mix of banter, opposites attract and sexual energy.
One thing we can be thankful for with Twisters ending on one hell of a cliffhanger is that hopefully, this means there's another Twisters movie to come.
Feature image: Warner Bros.
This article was originally published on July 19, 2024 and has since been updated with new information.
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