One Minute Movie Review: ‘The Impossible’
THE IMPOSSIBLE
Main Cast: Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, Tom Holland
Supporting Cast: Marta Etura, Oaklee Pendergast, Samuel Joslin
Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
MTRCB Rating: PG-13
Opening Date: January 23, 2013
Gist: Maria, Henry and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand, looking forward to a few days in tropical paradise. But on the morning of December 26th, as the family relaxes around the pool after their Christmas festivities the night before, a terrifying roar rises up from the center of the earth. As Maria freezes in fear, a huge wall of black water races across the hotel grounds toward her. –Lionsgate
The Positive: In my opinion, “The Impossible” features the best tsunami sequence ever made on the big screen. And as powerful as the special effects in this film are the performance of the main cast–Ewan McGregor as Henry, Naomi Watts as Maria and Tom Holland as Lucas, their eldest child–portraying the true-to-life story of a family’s struggle for survival in Thailand’s tsunami tragedy in 2004.
What so special about this disaster movie is that the director took some risks and it paid off. The catastrophe is presented as realistic as possible while the traumatized characters are believable and heartfelt. The result: the true-to-life story of a family’s saga for survival is compelling at first, touching in the end and thought-provoking after you leave the theater.
“The Impossible” is definitely one of the best disaster movies of all time by virtue of its poignant depiction of real-life events.
The Negative: The survival of a British family in the tragedy that killed thousands of Asians may sound unbelievable at first but this is based from a true story. Hence the title.
Memorable Line: “Close your eyes, think of something nice.”
Tag Line: “Nothing is More Powerful than the Human Spirit.”
STARMOMETER SCORE: 9/10
“The Impossible” Trailer: