Best movie i have ever seen. It's has a lot of heart touching moment that can make you cry . it's was so real that can make you believe in that movie

"The Impossible'' is a true story very intense story of family's survival against the odds.worth checking out for the acting and effects ,and is not a remake movie.

The Impossible is one of the best films of 2012. Never has a movie been so depressing and at the same time so uplifting. Naomi watts does an incredible job, but Lucas, her son, is the star of the film. A movie that should be seen, remembered, and not forgotten.

The movie, in my opinion, is a mixed bag. Some of the scenes are done perfectly yet others are so cheesy that I cringed when I was watching it.
The phrase "like in a bad Hollywood movie" was coming to mind. The script could definitely be better. Cinematography is impeccable. Kids are not always acting believably. Overall, the movie is good but definitely not great.

Director J A Bayona's vision for this film is simply spectacular. It manages to be extremely emotionally enticing, authentic, visually brilliant, and rooted in showcasing humanity at its finest. The entire acting assemble was flawless, but it was the scenes between Naomi Watts and Tom Holland that made this film so beautiful and real.

"The Impossible" was surprisingly effective - it manages to capture what it would be like to actually experience a tsunami - but while those impressive special effects capture the carnage, the Director has also managed to sketch out vivid characters as well. Naomi Watts maintains a focused determination amid the tragedy, while Ewan captures a father a bit more out of control - for reason clear as the story unfolds. Suspenseful and heartbreaking.… Expand

Por mucho que sepas lo que pasará sigue impactando. Parece realmente imposible lo que sucedió. Es difícil no llorar o al menos que se te ponga la piel de gallina. Espectacular, dramática, grandes interpretaciones. Arriba el cine español.

As a drama film far better than Avatar & Co., mostly due to three reasons: The whole film is based on a true story and, of course, an actual event, which makes it so threedimensional. Secondly, there are amazing actors, especially an astonishing Tom Holland, who will surely get a row of offers after his critcally performance. And thirdly the amazing story and enactment of the fatal 26. December 2004, which is geniusly directedand well written. If you watch it, bring enough tissue with you!!!… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. No suelo ver películas que puedan estimular el fenómeno secreto-motor complejo que es caracterizado por derramar liquido del aparato lagrimal, evito al máximo la punzada en el pecho y verme ante la labor de mirar para otras partes intentando buscar fuerzas que me alejen de la escena que me acongoja, sin embargo … Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Probably the best advertisement for expensive private healthcare that I have ever seen. It was watchable, emotional, and if you like a cry you may like it.… Expand

The 5 members of this family seem real. I teared up several times. Kudos to the director who gets realistic performances from all the actors. It is particularly difficult to get good performances from children but he managed it. It is Naomi Watts, however, that is the centerpiece. The main crux of the film follows her and the oldest son on the path to safety. The Tsunami seemed real, and there is a cast of thousands around the hospital. Not sure how they filmed it but it is quite an achievement. I'm not sure I would ever want to see the film again - much of it is hard to watch, but overall a very affective film that I thought about long after the final credits. Lastly, I would like to mention that the entire movie was given away in the trailer I saw for this movie which is a shame. There is an art to making a trailer that makes you want to see the movie without giving too much away and more and more movies are giving away too much of the plot.… Expand

The Impossible. As close as you will ever want to get to a natural disaster let alone one of the worst in recorded history. The movie is not all about when the waves hits, with the emotional performances of Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts hitting just as hard. Some amazing visuals and sound design from an up and coming Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona. Interesting how I was left feeling at the end which I believe is the point. I would say a must see movie.… Expand

Very good film, good character development, the eldest son in the film is outstanding, and as you'd expect Ewan Mcgregor and Naomi watts are very good, the scene where the wave hits is very powerful and the special effects are brilliant . Throughout the film i heard many people in the cinema cry, i didn't but i was very close, the eyes were glossing over believe me. Go and watch it, you won't regret it :)… Expand

The Impossible is a movie about a family that goes on vacation to Thailand and had to survive to the tsunami. As the title of the film suggest this story is impossible to believe, although is based on true events. The plot is constructed by the separation of this five member family, in two: the mother with the older son and the father with the two following children, so they are supposed to find each other, yet they must not only endure physical pain, but also break psychological barriers, like fears, solitude, forced independence, hopelessness and post traumatic shock. Because of that this is a story of big magnitudes, treats topics like courage, hope, never giving up, facing fears and overcoming problems. The most outstanding thing of the picture, apart from the devastation images, are the performances: Naomi Watts is fine, but Tom Holland, as Lucas, is absolutely brilliant. The only problem is that The Impossible does not have nothing new to present, the stage is different, but the message is not original at all.… Expand

"The Impossible" is a solid, well-made disaster film fueled by the human spirit fighting for survival with fine performances, especially by Naomi Watts. "The Impossible" faces and never quite overcomes, Ocean tsunami sets up an excellent premises in terms of showing the audience the aftermath of such an extravagant human atrocity. However, "The Impossible" feels every bit average, never rising above its own genre conventions--but it compensates with fine performances and outstanding realistic effects. The tsunami sets up the plot and the rest of the film-the catastrophic situation allows the audience to sense the aftermath of such an overwhelming human atrocity. However, "The Impossible" feels every bit average, never rising above its own genre conventions. "The Impossible" soon becomes a painful experience to endure; not for the reasons one might expect, either.
When the tsunami slams into the resort (in the first 15 minutes), Maria (Naomi Watts) and Henry (Ewan McGregor) are taking their family to Thailand for the Christmas period, hoping to enjoy a festive season complete with unflinching sunshine and exotic beaches. Arriving on Christmas Eve, the family rejoice through the 25th, savoring their time together in the island paradise. However, on Boxing Day a massive Tsunami crashes into their resort, leaving them separated and facing one of the nastiest natural disasters of modern times. The first half of the movie unfolds as a survivalist picture, pitting the characters against horrific conditions and devastating conditions--creating gripping tension in the process. There are inspirational moments of perseverance, families reuniting, people pulling together and overcoming. The film's most dramatic sequences focus on Lucas (Todd Holland), assigning himself the role of his mother's lifeguard and protector. However, as the film continues it becomes more disjointed with seamless wandering as it stumbles toward its denouement. In relation to seamless wandering--Ewan McGregor's performance just doesn't nearly stack up next to Naomi's Oscar worthy performance. As the husband, separated from his wife and searching for her, McGregor finds himself walking aimlessly and hopeless-- he does a lot of tripping or falling through floors and screaming. Even worse, it's through McGregor's role that we meet other people searching for family members, and this hint of the broader story makes the movie's little story seem trivial. What Juan Antonio Bayona is trying to do with "The Impossible" is honorable, but it's hampered by a weak script that does absolutely nothing with an endless number of possibilities. There are so many unique and truly tragic stories that spawned from the 2004 tsunami, but it feels like none of these possibilities were explored here. By the end of the film, I was bitterly scoffing to myself as the family was flown away on a private airplane to the safety of another country while many other families were left behind with missing mothers and fathers and sons and daughters. The story of this family just isn't as whole-heartedly inspiring as it could have been. I'm aware of the purpose of each character. They exist only to serve as a component of the guiding narrative that takes us on a "tour" of the aftermath caused by the tsunami. But because of this, the characters are nothing but cardboard cutouts of people. They're not interesting or worth sympathizing for in the most basic cinematic way because there's nothing distinguishing them from the hundreds of thousands of other people. But when watching the actual footage posted on You Tube, and listening to the real victims-- their gut-wrenching stories of their experiences, the movie fails to capture the same reaction of astonishment.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What am I missing here? This is one of the worst movies I've seen recently.
The 5-10 minute tidal wave reenactment while spectacularly filmed, can't make up for the hollowness of the remainder of the story. There is barely any character development. But the most frustrating thing is that the viewer already knows the eventual outcome of this whole pointless exercise... that all the family members are still alive and in safe hands, and that they simply need to find one another amongst the chaos of survivors/aid workers. In the real world, one knows that eventually all will be reunited (at the very latest), through a phone line and next-of-kin contact.… Expand

Trying to force the audience to feel played 'The Impossible' does not do well in portraying the possible survival of a family to a natural disaster. Naomi Watts does a good job, but spending half the movie just lying, who would not?

mawkish adj. 1. Excessively and objectionably sentimental. 2. Sickening or insipid in taste. To describe The Impossible as mawkish is like calling Joe Pesci's character in Goodfellas "not nice". The Impossible is one family's story of survival in the aftermath of the tsunami that struck Thailand on Boxing Day in 2004. The special effects used to recreate the tsunami are very impressive. I was saying "Wow" at that point of the movie. As the film progressed, I found myself saying "Wow" in a different manner; while rolling my eyes in disbelief at the acting and dialog. A better title for this flick would have been The Implausible.

The screenplay is by Sergio G. Sánchez from María Belón's story. Belón is the woman portrayed in the film by Naomi Watts. Since the writers were Spanish, we can only hope that something was lost in translation since I hardly believed any of the characters' words.

Watts does a decent job in the lead role, and it's a credit to her that she succeeds even to that extent, considering the direction and writing. Other actors don't fare as well. Tom Holland, who plays her son Lucas, shows some promise as an actor, but here he mostly comes off as an overly sentimental caricature. The other main character is the father portrayed by Ewan McGregor. McGregor's "acting" consists mainly of looking anguished in blood-smear makeup while screaming out the names of his family members.

Director Juan Antonio Bayona has decided that the best way to convey the hardship and emotions experienced by the poor souls who suffered through this ordeal is to show closeups of their faces to the accompaniment of some Williamsesque music done to the nth degree. I could just imagine John Williams (a.k.a. The Big Schmaltzy) sitting in a theater where this was playing, wincing and saying, "Eww, too much music."

I have to say that I felt a little uncomfortable while watching this movie. Here was a real and devastating tragedy, and I was feeling as much emotion as I do when I watch my computer run a virus scan. Those who suffered through this catastrophe deserve to have their stories told with dignity and gravitas. At the very least they deserve more than this uninspired and maudlin celluloid effort.… Expand

It's a much better, more emotional movie than I thought it would be. The actor who plays the oldest son is phenomenal, and he should be considered for a supporting actor nomination come awards season. Naomi Watts is excellent, as usual. The movie as a whole, however, is a touch conventional.

The performances are all excellent; particularly those of Watts, McGregor and Holland, and the recreation of the tsunami is terrifyingly real. But The Impossible never really taps into any genuine emotions and it never digs too deeply into the horrific aftermath. It's ultimately a tidy movie about an unfathomable tragedy.

The film starts with a real bang, with a ten-minute reenactment of the tidal wave and its devastation, depicted by Boyona in the most graphic and brutal way. What follows is inevitably an anticlimax, however the amazing cinematography and the incredible stand-out performance comes from 16-year-old Holland make it worth while watching till the end.

A vacationing family (headed by Naomi Watts & Ewan McGregor) is ripped apart and struggles to survive the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. From the jarring opening image it's obvious that this is going to be heavy-handed and manipulative. The disaster is impressively imagined and their plight is certainly daunting. Even with all the pain and emotion, the frequently ominous direction and menacing music telegraphed the situations. Performances, including the 3 sons, are strong and special effects are convincing. There was something about it that left me flat. I was absorbed throughout, but never caught up in the drama. To me the 2006 HBO film "Tsunami: The Aftermath" was better.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Inspired and deeply affecting, notwithstanding some of the churlish notices the film received from snobbish, politically correct critics at the New York Times, The New Yorker et al. One suspects their Liberal dander was aroused because 'The Impossible' depicted the (true) story of a white family that survived a Third World disaster in which People of Color died by the hundreds of thousands. Ignore these intellectually dishonest reviewers. As an achievement in art, 'The Impossible' was excellent in every way -- the best film I've seen so far in 2013.… Expand

I am not to mourn, and this movie tears me out. With a message of love and family, this film proves to be a jewel of the tragedy and drama; giving us harrowing scenes with Naomi Watts, proving it is an Oscar nominee.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There is no way this movie can have a 73 rating on here. The movie is just so agonizing to watch. To start out with, there is no way the entire family could have survived this, as they show the guy and his two sons taking the full impact of the huge wave at the beginning of the movie. The boys don't even have a scratch. Just ridiculous. The endless sequence of the mother and the other son is just that...never ending moaning and screaming. They show a wound in the mother's right leg that is so huge that there is just no way she could walk, let alone...live. The blood loss would kill her in less than two minutes. The young boys say things young boys would never say in real life, it is way too obvious that they are just saying memorized lines. There is no character development whatsoever. The father leaves his two young boys, possibly all he got left, in the middle of the night to search for his wife and other son who are likely dead He doesn't even know where the boys are going. No father would do that.
Even the only possibly redeeming scene, the wave hitting land is, cheap and bad. This could easily be Ewan McGregor's worst role. Almost two hours of agony.… Expand

Frankly, I had been experiencing some obvious pains while watching thiz movie. The movie gives you an actual situation of one of the deadliest natural disasters of the 21st century. It was the mega tsunami that hit most of Southeast Asia in 2004. To be more specific, it’s based on the incredible true story of the Belon family consists of a father, a mother and three sons, which at that timime were on vacation in Phuket, Thailand. The father Henry is played by Ewan McGregor. McGregor’s character went through a lot of struggles to find his wife and son. It’s a very complex character. However, he can translate thiz character pretty well. But personally, for me, it’s the mother Maria who is played by Naomi Watts that delivers some powerful and heart-shattering performances. Watts can bring her character to life, with great emotional depth and effective improvisation. The other strong performance comes from the role of the eldest son Lucas which is played by Tom Holland. Holland creates a brilliant chemistry with Naomi Watts. The other two younger brother Thomas and Simon are played by Samuel Joslin and Oaklee Pendergast. Thiz movie is directed by young Spanish Director Juan Antonio Bayona who previously known for “The Orphanage” (2007). I can guarantee you will be in awe for the first 45 minutes of the movie, but after that, the storyline seems kind of lost. In addition to the impressive performances from the Cast members, thiz movie also provides breathtaking Visual Effects. It directly drags you into the middle of the situation. The giant tidal wave is frightening and believable. The sound of how tsunami debris hit and tear up the body is even more terrifying. There is always a meaning behind every tragedy. I appreciate the moral values in thiz movie. There is a scene, when the mother Maria tells her eldest son Lucas to help other victims though they themselves are in distress. It is praiseworthy deed and so amazing to see humanity is still alive. It’s true, nothing is more powerful than the human spirit. That’s the time when the impossible become possible.

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Absolutely stunning. It was the first film I saw to be released in 2013 (in the United States) and already I can see it as being the best. Many times, I don't fall for attempts for sympathy in movies. This was entirely different. Prior to seeing this movie, I watched a documentary about the Tsunami which primarily seemed to primarily focus on various people who were vacationing to various countries in the Indian Ocean. It was brutal, sad, and disturbing. This movie being based on a true story of a foreign family that visits a resort in Thailand, it was like I was watching a dramatized version of the documentary all over again, and because of the reality of the situation, the movie was incredibly powerful in its emotion. I can easily say that this may be the saddest movie I've ever seen, and also one of the most tense. There isn't really a moment in the movie past the twenty minute mark where you won't feel at least a decent urge to cry, and honestly I'm surprised I didn't show as much outward emotion as I did - When I left the theater, I had a headache because of it. Every actor and actress in the movie did a stunning job in portraying realistic emotion and desperation, creating a sense of real fear, grief, loss, and sorrow. This movie will affect you. It certainly affected me.… Collapse