The legacy sequel is a genre in itself at this point. Since 2015’s one-two punch of Jurassic World and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the ingredients have become baked in.
The recipe is this: first, superficially refurbish your template film in the script stage, and treat your laziness as reverence – bonus points if your new characters obsess over their forebears. Next, recruit an inexperienced indie director who will lose the intimate charm of their low-budget work and give the whole thing a digital Netflix-original sheen, and then round up a host of up-and-comers who all will seem like they’re auditioning for bigger things.
Only one film in that genre – Top Gun: Maverick – has managed to surpass its predecessor, thanks primarily to star Tom Cruise willing it so. It’s unsurprising, then, that Twisters, the second film from Minari filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung from a story by Maverick director Joseph Kosinski, recruits Cruise’s Maverick co-star and protege Glen Powell to try to do the same.
I won’t leave you waiting in suspense. Twisters does not reach the heights of the 1996 original – not even close. But there are bright spots, several of its stars shine (Powell among them), and the film chugs along merrily and never falls apart, though you might start checking your phone by act three. It will be a fine but forgettable time at the theatre, and will likely make an excellent plane movie. But the problem with a nostalgia play is it’s hard to not think about all we’ve lost and how little we’ve gained.
The 1996 film Twister, directed by Jan de Bont and written by Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park) and Anne-Marie Martin and starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, is a classic that hides in plain sight. Following a group of tornado researchers as they risk their lives chasing storms, it was the second highest-grossing film of 1996, and was one of the first films released on DVD. It’s the kind of great that was taken for granted at the time but shines upon revisit.
Experience helps, it turns out. De Bont helmed Speed a couple of years earlier, and was the director of photography on Die Hard, Hunt for Red October and Basic Instinct. The Crichton co-written script is a lesser work than his Jurassic Park, but is excellent in all the same ways, full of palpably human characters whose passion for science leads them nearly to their own demise.
That’s probably why de Bont gives a Spielbergian touch to his work in Twister – kinetic camera work that leans into the dust-bowl grit, balancing intimate close-ups of its stars and stunning wide shots of tornados that are full of foreboding beauty and awe.
Twisters seemingly goes for all of that, but never hits the mark. It follows a new generation of storm chasers, led by Kate Carter (Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones), a traumatised meteorologist trying to get back on the horse, and Tyler Owens (Powell), a brash YouTuber with more scientific bona-fides than he lets on.
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
Conspicuously, there is one major aspect of the legacy sequel missing here. There’s no mention or appearance of Bill Paxton or Helen Hunt’s characters, nor the supporting cast. The only guest spot is the late Paxton’s son James, who cameos as a disgruntled motel guest.
There’s a likely reason for this – Hunt had pitched her own Twister sequel around the same time that this film was given the green light with Blindspotting’s Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, which would have focused on an “all black and brown” group of storm chasers. Universal passed.
Powell is the best thing about this film, and while he’s not Cruise (who else could be?), his earnest and humble attempts to follow in his footsteps make you root for him rather than resent him. His trademark grin assures the likable arrogance lands well – that we saw in Maverick – but his best quality may be his ability to project love and admiration for his female co-stars whenever he stops speaking – that bit is in his eyes.
Unfortunately, Jones isn’t up to the task of balancing the ticket. She’s an out-of-sight-out-of-mind lead, and a lot of the film’s failure to connect comes down to her inability to bring us in.
To be fair, some of this might be due to the script and direction, which make moments that should hit like a gut punch instead graze lightly. When people die in this film, they simply drift away into the wind, and that’s exactly how it feels for us too. But Powell transcends these failures, while Jones isn’t able to.
The supporting cast, on the other hand, make an impression in limited screen time, and are a genuine highlight. It’s an achievement of casting more than anything else, as actors such as Sasha Lane (American Honey), Katy O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding) and Tunde Adebimpe (lead singer of the band TV on the Radio) all charm, and since they all feel like people you may meet in real life, they are what stops the film from feeling entirely AI-generated.
I’m coming down hard on a perfectly fine piece of summer entertainment, I know. But it’s hard not to when I can remember the way the first made me feel as if it were yesterday, and the sequel had already left my mind by the time I’d walked to my car.
Twisters is now in cinemas across the Middle East
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EProcessor%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Apple%20M3%2C%208-core%20CPU%2C%20up%20to%2010-core%20CPU%2C%2016-core%20Neural%20Engine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDisplay%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2013.6-inch%20Liquid%20Retina%2C%202560%20x%201664%2C%20224ppi%2C%20500%20nits%2C%20True%20Tone%2C%20wide%20colour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMemory%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%2F16%2F24GB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStorage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20256%2F512GB%20%2F%201%2F2TB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EI%2FO%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Thunderbolt%203%2FUSB-4%20(2)%2C%203.5mm%20audio%2C%20Touch%20ID%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EConnectivity%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wi-Fi%206E%2C%20Bluetooth%205.3%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2052.6Wh%20lithium-polymer%2C%20up%20to%2018%20hours%2C%20MagSafe%20charging%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECamera%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201080p%20FaceTime%20HD%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EVideo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Support%20for%20Apple%20ProRes%2C%20HDR%20with%20Dolby%20Vision%2C%20HDR10%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAudio%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204-speaker%20system%2C%20wide%20stereo%2C%20support%20for%20Dolby%20Atmos%2C%20Spatial%20Audio%20and%20dynamic%20head%20tracking%20(with%20AirPods)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EColours%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Midnight%2C%20silver%2C%20space%20grey%2C%20starlight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIn%20the%20box%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20MacBook%20Air%2C%2030W%2F35W%20dual-port%2F70w%20power%20adapter%2C%20USB-C-to-MagSafe%20cable%2C%202%20Apple%20stickers%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh4%2C599%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
UAE squad
Ali Kashief, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdelrahman, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohmmed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Eisa, Mohammed Shakir, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah), Waleed Abbas, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Mahrami (Baniyas)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 390bhp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
Company%20profile
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UAE SQUAD
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club race card
5pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic (PA) Prestige; Dh110,000; 1,400m
5.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic (PA) Prestige; Dh110,000; 1,400m
6pm: Maiden (PA); Dh80,000; 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (PA) Listed; Dh180,000; 1,600m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 2,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (PA); Dh100,000; 2,400m
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
