You won’t hear about climate change in ‘Twisters.’ Here’s why

The summer blockbuster puts nature’s ever-more destructive power in the spotlight. But like the titular twisters, there’s a hole at the center.

Like its titular tornados, “Twisters” blasts through a lot in its 122-minute runtime. A summer blockbuster with a surprising amount of brains to match Glen Powell’s brawn, it features subplots that are signs of the times – disaster capitalists; the Faustian bargain between scientists and financiers – and a deluge of imagery portraying lives and livelihoods threatened by nature’s awesome power. But two words you won’t hear from any of its characters are “climate change.” “I just wanted to make sure that with the movie, we don’t ever feel like (it) is putting forward any message,” director Lee Isaac Chung explained in an interview with CNN. “I just don’t feel like films are meant to be message-oriented.” To his credit, there is some scientific justification for the omission, too. Generally, scientists are the least certain about the connection between tornadoes and climate change as it’s unclear how warming temperatures are changing storms themselves or the outbreaks. However, evidence is growing of the potential impact of planet-warming pollution. Recent studies have showed rotating, supercell thunderstorms that produce tornadoes are becoming more frequent in parts of the US outside so-called Tornado Alley, including in the Southeast and Midwest. They are also becoming more frequent in seasons that aren’t the traditional severe storm season, and recent December outbreaks have proved particularly deadly. “We’ve never seen tornadoes like this before,” says Javi, Anthony Ramos’ entrepreneurial storm chaser, in one scene. He goes on to convince old friend Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) to join his research team, promising “We can save lives.” In the film, ever-more destructive tornados carve up increasingly urbanized areas of Oklahoma.