Why A Climactic Kiss Was Cut From Twisters

One of the best aspects of "Twisters" is that the action-thriller movie is secretly a rom-com first and foremost. It's a story about a woman who moves back to her hometown, meets a charming guy, and after some negging and flirting, they connect on a real, electrifying level. Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Tyler (Glen Powell) have amazing chemistry, and it's delightful watching them slowly fall in love. Also, there are some tornadoes or whatever.

The only problem with "Twisters" is the final scene, where Tyler chases Kate through the airport to catch her before her flight, getting himself a massive parking ticket in the process. It's a classic rom-com trope, something straight out of "Love Actually" or "She's Out of My League." But for some reason, they don't kiss. They look like they're about to kiss, but then they see a tornado's coming, so they spring into action. It's an oddly unsatisfying beat to end on; why spend the whole film building up to them making out, only to deny the audience that catharsis?

WHY DID THEY CUT THE KISS pic.twitter.com/is7XhI9iu9

— zara 🍉🌪️ TWISTERS SPOILERS (@seresinbradshaw) July 18, 2024

Made worse is the recent revelation that there originally was a version of the scene filmed where the two kissed. From the video in the tweet above, it sure seemed like a well-acted, steamy moment, so why would they choose to scrap it? Well, as director Lee Isaac Chung explained in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, it had something to do with evolving audience tastes. 

"I feel like audiences are in a different place now in terms of wanting a kiss or not wanting a kiss," Chung explained. "I actually tried the kiss, and it was very polarizing — and it's not because of their performance of the kiss... This [no-kiss shot] was the other option that I had filmed on the day, and I got to say, I like it better."

Speaking to Collider, Edgar-Jones and Powell said that the decision to take out the kiss was actually based on a note from producer Steven Spielberg. Both actors ultimately thought it was a good call, with Edgar-Jones saying, "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."

We here at /Film have long noted (and long complained about) the growing decline in sex and romance in mainstream movies. Many action movies have started eschewing the usual romantic subplot. Sometimes that's great, like with Max and Furiosa's platonic partnership in "Mad Max: Fury Road," but by now, denying audiences a romantic storyline arguably is the expected, safe thing to do. 

Chung doesn't seem to see it that way, however. "I think it's a better ending," he said, "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. In a way, this ending is a means to make sure that we really wrap things up with it in a celebratory, good way."

"If it ends on the kiss, then it makes it seem as though that's what Kate's journey was all about, to end up with a kiss," Chung continued. "But instead, it's better that it ends with her being able to continue doing what she's doing with a smile on her face."

For the romance lovers in the audience, this may feel like a weak excuse: Kate's character went through a well-rounded arc about facing her fears and successfully figuring out how stop a tornado in its tracks. Would a kiss at the end really have redefined her character arc to be all about a guy, or would it just have added a fun extra layer to it? 

Glen Powell, however, still finds the ending to be romantic enough to make it all work. As he told EW:

"Most of this movie, they're looking towards the weather — towards the science — and they're facing the same direction. Or they're driving facing forward. And this is one moment in the movie where they're facing each other, just two people without any weather to look at, wondering if they are more than just the weather around them. The beautiful part about the ending is you hear the [severe weather announcement on the airport loudspeaker], and you see two people...[chasing storms] is their love language. That is what brings them together. And the chase is really what their relationship's about."