At its core, Twisters is a disaster movie. And not in the 2012 sense, where the entire world is turned upside-down by a flood of biblical proportions. Instead, the disaster is very real, and perhaps even more scary: tornadoes. Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, it is a spiritual successor (not a sequel) to the 1996 film of the same name, and depicts two groups of storm chasers in Oklahoma that want to either research and quell the tornadoes or gain viraity from them.

The protagonist in the movie is Kate Carter, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones. She’s a stereotypical smart but shy girl, whose tragic past has made her obsessed with these storms. The real star of the show, however, is the tornado-cowboy-YouTuber Tyler Owens, portrayed by Glen Powell. The absurdity of his clout-chasing in the movie stands in stark contrast to the brutal depiction of cyclones, but it’s hard not to enjoy him. Other characters include Javi, a friend of Kate and a fellow meteorologist, played by Anthony Ramos.With its budget of over $150 million, Twisters is able to turn tornadoes into a truly horrifying show. The effects in the movie are genuinely scary at times, especially since it was released so soon after a series of horrific tornadoes struck us: people are literally ripped from the sky and crushed by debris. But it’s also occasionally silly: Tyler Owens’ antics show him driving into tornados while acting like it’s a rollercoaster ride. This dichotomy can be jarring, especially coupled with the relatively mediocre acting.

The most lackluster part of the movie is the plot. It’s often repetitive, which is hammered in by the fact that the tornados don’t offer many surprises, and many of the events in the movie turn out to be completely useless. The weakest part is the middle, where it needs to pad time before the resolution with unfulfilling character development.That’s not to say it’s a bad movie. The depiction of tornadoes, as mentioned, is terrifying, and the movie accomplishes the remarkable feat of putting the protagonists in danger and making it feel like their lives are genuinely at stake, unlike other disaster movies where the main characters are obviously invincible.

You’ll probably be disappointed if you’re going into Twisters with high standards. The shortcomings of the movie, however, do not entirely compromise it. All in all, it’s not worthy of being called a masterpiece, but it’s still solid, especially near the end.