Review of The Impossible (2012) by Jessica L — 04 Jun 2016

Despite a less than adequate finale, "The Impossible" is an emotional and unforgiving take on a real life tragedy, and the movie rides its actors until the very end.

Based on a true story, a family takes a holiday vacation down to Thailand, unaware of the tragedy about to strike. Without warning, a massive flood engulfs the entire result, along with the city surrounding it. The family is separated as they try and survive and reunite with the ones they love.

If anything, you should watch this movie for the performances alone. This is some of the best acting I've seen from these people right here, and they honestly carry the film. The main standout to me is Tom Holland. He's actually one of the biggest parts of the film and I hadn't even heard of this kid until "Civil War". However, his performance will not only leave you with a flurry of emotions, but shows just how bright his future is. As a kid actor and a young character, he never feels like dead weight at any point and he's the one who does most of the work. Naomi Watts also had some great moments as well, especially when she was in peril. Ewan McGregor also left me in tears on more than a couple occasions and his performance was just as mind blowing. This isn't the strongest script in the world, but the talent here really pushes this movie forward and they manage to create a compelling and emotional atmosphere.

The visuals and the mayhem are actually very impressive. In a very basic strip down, you could consider this a disaster film. When disaster strikes, not only does it look very real and devastating, but it looks ugly. I mean that in the best way possible as they destroyed tangible sets rather than artificially generate everything. It took them a year just to shoot those 10 minutes of disaster footage and it really came to life here.

Although intense and emotional at times, that was more or less due to the amazing performances with the occasional gritty visuals. I found the first 70% of the movie to be written very well, but as for the finale, the movie sort of fell to this cliched and empty finale. It didn't really feel like this movie built up to something awe inspiring and I was not surprised as to how it all came together. I felt like for the most part, this movie was written solidly, but there were some glaring issues when it came to the writing.

Overall, there are more than a few very emotional moments in this film. It's got some excellent performances and a great representation of the tragedies that struck this area. It's a great representation of how kind and compassionate humans beings can be while simultaneously showing the severity of uncontrollable disasters.