The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
Green Book
Widows
The Walking Dead
Log in with Facebook
OR
By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies, and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango.
Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password.
Critics Consensus: The screenplay isn't quite as powerful as the direction or the acting, but with such an astonishing real-life story at its center, The Impossible is never less than compelling.
Critic Consensus: The screenplay isn't quite as powerful as the direction or the acting, but with such an astonishing real-life story at its center, The Impossible is never less than compelling.
All Critics (193) | Top Critics (48) | Fresh (157) | Rotten (36) | DVD (2)
Alas, the movie tells a rather commonplace story.
The tsunami sequence is amazing, right up there with the one Clint Eastwood staged in Hereafter.
This is an unforgettable tribute to the determination of a very special family.
Unlike some films that have become critics' darlings, 'The Impossible' has no pretensions. It isn't edgy and I don't think it has a hidden subtext.
Naomi Watts gives one of her finest, most physically commanding turns.
Although it's ostensibly based on true events, The Impossible is not so much an inspiring tale of survival as it is an action flick.
The wrath of nature is re-created so masterfully by filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona that it feels like a documentary.
It might seem a noble project, aiming to show the rest of the world what hell some endured. But even a dramatic film can only suggest part of the experience. And I fear The Impossible might serve only to trivialize that experience.
Compelling and oozing with conflict and complexity, The Impossible is a heartfelt horror show worth its weight in reflective, ghoulish gold.
It's all superbly acted, with Watts especially delivering a powerful performance.
Bayona's staging of the tsunami without (seemingly without) digital effects is relentless, convincing, terrifying, non-stupid, and without Hollywood wonder.
... Watts manages to transmit all the pain she suffers and what goes through the head of the protagonist... [Full review in Spanish]
A tsunami in Asia at first tears a family apart and then brings them together. Good acting (particularly by Naomi Watts and Tom Holland), subtle direction, decent writing, and the added tension that being in a foreign land might bring during a huge crisis, and yet ... it was hard for me to involve myself in this tale.
Super Reviewer
With wonderful acting, "The Impossible" tells a captivating true story in which survival impulses, society, family ties and human kindness all shine and inspire. This is a very well done film.
I was perhaps not very emotionally attached to the characters in this one, but it is undeniable that the performances are brilliant all around.
"The Impossible" is a film that has a moment every watcher awaits from the moment the screen credits begin to roll - the tsunami. These "moment" films have a major obstacle to clear as the expectation for that moments gives the film the pressure to live up to that "moment". But thanks to those high expectations films that are able to live up to the promise transcend. Some examples are "Jaws" where everyone in the audience is on the edge of their seats waiting to see that shark and when it does appear, boy does it meet expectations. And then the film itself continues to build on that momentum and before you realize it you are experiencing a special kind of magic. When it's done poorly - say like 2004's "The Day After Tomorrow", it's a disaster. This film marketed world destruction and the special effects delivered but the film itself was tedious and idiotic. When the tsunami arrives in "The Impossible" - it is terrifying. Just like advertised the moment that is the nucleus to the film is visually stunning but also a horrifying thing to witness. Juan Antonio Bayona does an incredible job at not just stopping at the huge wave that overcomes the resort but the unknown dangers it continued to unleash on our protagonists. Thanks to strong performances by Naomi Watts and the incredible Tom Holland, "The Impossible" comes close to being a home run, but the moment that action shifts to Ewan McGregor's side of the story it deflates. The script in its attempts to depict moments that occurred over a long period of time into a compact 2 hours becomes hard to swallow. Coincidences abound - one moment in the hospital (will avoid divulging spoiler) is particularly Hollywood. For about 3/4 of its length, "The Impossible" is a hell of a film but it ultimately begins to falter. Luckily for us the promise the movie made of exposing you to the horrors of the tsunami and surviving it is fulfilled. Too bad the human element didn't equal that promise.
View All Quotes
View All