The Impossible

Cast: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland and Samuel Joslin

Director: J.A Bayona

Release Date: 2012

Running Time: 1hr 53 minutes

Genre: Drama

Rating: PG-13

Format: Amazon Prime UK

Synopsis:

The incredible true story of a family who were caught in the terrifying Tsunami that hit Thailand in 2004! 

Nothing could prepare the world for what happened on December 24th, 2004, when a tsunami hit Thailand. One can only imagine, how absolutely terrifying it must have been! This is a very underrated movie! Sadly, it didn't make all of it's money back at the box office, but believe me, this is really worth watching! This is the incredible true story of a family that survived the 2004 tsunami! Starring Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor, both of their performances are truly remarkable! Ewan McGregor's performance is so genuine and real that you can't help sympathizing with his character, the heartbreak, the fear, it's written all over his face.The storyline naturally, is an emotional roller-coaster from beginning to end. It'll make you cry, believe me it will! Tom Holland delivers an incredible performance for a child actor, Lucas is a real hero!

Making a film about such a sensitive subject is difficult, however what's unique about this one is the real Spanish family were involved through out the whole of filming. I'm not entirely sure why they made the family British in the movie? The storyline is pretty self explanatory to be honest, when the tsunami hits the family are separated, some sequences are a little bit graphic, so just as a warning for those that might find some scenes a little bit sensitive, especially if you have children. Real family member Maria Bolen, also help to write the storyline, in assuring that it was as accurate as possible. Despite the movie being about such a sensitive and frightening subject, it's also incredibly inspiring too!

The dialogue between Lucas and his mother is very real and emotional, what do you do in a circumstance like that? Run for you're life! Fight for survival. This movie really puts every disaster movie to shame. The emotion that comes from each actor is just incredible. Their amazing performances are really what make this movie so real and haunting! Real on the edge of your seat stuff, the suspense is truly thrilling! The colouring and the lighting works beautifully with the set and the storyline, bringing the story to life! Their injuries are haunting and graphic, the make up department certainly deserve the highest praise!

It's really quite spectacular, where do you even begin to reenact something so real? Beautifully shot in the real location in Thailand at the hotel that has now been rebuilt. Naturally, the wave sequences weren't shot there. That is, of course what makes the set design so impressive! It looks real, genuine, it's terrifying to watch! I really love how Director Bayona has chosen to use close ups and POV shots to emphasize what the characters are feeling on the impact of the wave! What's most impressive, about the way the film is shot, that at times you'd honestly believe you were watching real footage or a documentary. The wave sequences are frightening to watch! Each scene has been fantastically shot and looks amazing in each and every frame.

Beautifully edited and perfectly paced, thrilling from beginning to end! The fact that Director J.A Bayona has chosen not to use that much of a score really works well with the storyline, the film allows audiences to focus more on the actors and the action that's taking place! The lack of score allows the movie to feel and look very real! A very underrated movie. A real eye opener!

5/5 stars