What is it?
A true story about one family’s tsunami torture-porn adventure.
Who’s it for?
Fans of masochism, compound fractures and disaster films.
The Impossible is the true story of a family that endured the 2004 tsunami. Unfortunately, truth does not guarantee an interesting plot. There’s a gritty realism to the gruesome injuries and the terror is palpable, but it really feels like 2hrs of torture for our leads. I think they made this film for Eli Roth fans.
The acting is serviceable. Naomi Watts does a lot of groaning and Ewan McGregor is very motivated to find new places to fall down. The one standout performance is from Tom Holland (the new Spider-Man). The young actor shows a surprising amount of maturity in the role. There are some beautiful compositions showcasing the speed and brutality of the tsunami as well as an underwater sequence featuring Watts that is stunning. The cinematography is nice.
If you really like to see nice people suffer, this might be your bag. It does have a lovely tsunami. The Hallmark Channel wishes it had the balls to pull off this material.
The Impossible is currently streaming on Netflix.