TWIST

TWIST brings Charles Dickens’ classic story, OLIVER TWIST, into modern-day London, where a young painter and graffiti artist who practices freerunning, an artistic version of the sport of running, climbing and leaping across urban landscapes in the quickest, most efficient way possible, gets involved with a gang of thieves. TWIST moves at a lively pace and has some redeeming elements celebrating family and promoting justice, but it’s marred by some foul language, immoral behavior, strong bloody violence, moral relativism, and a scene with two women kissing.

After an intense freerunning scene at night where a man falls off a building to his death, the movie opens with a boy named Oliver and his mother painting together in their home. Oliver recalls fond memories of visiting an art gallery with his mother. Through a montage sequence, the movie reveals that Oliver’s mother dies but leaves him with all their paintings.

Fast forward, and Oliver lives on the streets and rooftops of London as a graffiti artist and freerunner. Because of his freerunning skills, Oliver has earned the nickname “Twist.” While drawing some graffiti, then running from the police, Twist runs into another group of freerunners who introduce him to their boss, Fagin, played by Michael Caine.

Fagin sees the talent that Twist has for escaping the authorities and wants to recruit him for his heist operations. Twist doesn’t like the idea and leaves to finish a massive graffiti piece on a side of a building. However, after some convincing from another freerunner, a young woman named Red, Twist joins their group.

Twist immediately falls in love with Red and is persuaded by Fagin to train her for the upcoming heist. As Twist begins to bond with Red and his new family, Fagin prepares for a revenge heist against an old enemy.

However, Fagin meets with a blackhearted female criminal named Sikes, the person who shoved the man in the first scene off the building. Sikes strikes a deal with Fagin, which compromises the safety of everyone involved. Twist eventually gets in contact with the authorities and must decide whether the law or his newfound family is more important.

TWIST moves at a lively pace, with the backdrop of freerunning and stealing artwork in modern-day London. The movie keeps many of the classic OLIVER TWIST character names the same, but its similarities to the original novel, and even previous movie adaptations, end there. Aside from the upbeat heist moments that offer some interest, TWIST lacks the same biblical themes and heart as its predecessors. There are some redeeming elements like the importance of family, the bad consequences of lying, and a promotion of justice. However, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution due to some foul language, strong bloody violence, some moral relativism, a scene with two women kissing, and other immoral behavior in TWIST.