The Impossible
Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona
Written by Maria Belon (story), Sergio G. Sanchez (screenplay)
Starring: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast
Apaches Entertainment/Summit Entertainment
Rated PG-13 | 114 Minutes
Release date: January 4, 2013

I can say that since things have died down at work, back to normal hours, and having some extra money due to the extra hours, I have been able to see a nice bunch of movies to start 2013. And hopefully that is a trend that continues for awhile. Although next week is vacation for me and I’ll be spending it in Vegas, so I am not sure if a movie will be watched then.

But I did once again venture off to one of my local Landmark Theaters, the Oriental, to see this movie, The Impossible. There had been some strong buzz for this one going in, and even a little more buzz now after yesterday’s Oscar nominations were announced, with Naomi Watts up for a Best Performance by a Lead Actress nomination for the film.

The Impossible is based on the real life family, the Bennets: Maria (Watts) and Henry (Ewan McGregor), and their three sons, Lucas (Tom Holland) Thomas (Samuel Joslin), and Simon (Oaklee Pendergast). While vacationing in Thailand for Christmas, they were about to become just one of the stories of survival from a 2004 tsunami that devastated the area.

You might think knowing it’s a real-life survival story is a spoiler, but if you watch the trailer or read the official synopsis, you will see that that’s the premise of the movie. Perhaps you think it will ruin the drama and suspense, but for me, I would say, not in this movie.

We are given a brief intro and look at the family before all hell breaks loose. And when the tsunami hits, your heart begins to quicken and you just sit in your seat and feel the raw power and chaos as you follow the family during the initial wave. The amazing visuals and special effects, which are not overdone, just drag you into the wave. And it’s going to get a little gory as the destruction makes its way inland. So for those of you that aren’t a fan of blood and stuff, be warned, you may need to look away at certain scenes. But luckily the story and cast are enough to get your attention back to the screen.

Amongst all the bad that is going on in the world, a movie like this is enough to make you feel good about mankind and the human condition once again. The tsunami affected many, but no matter the color of skin, everyone was out to help everyone, and that makes your heart feel good.

If I were to complain about one thing, it would be the few times you may want to say “C’mon” towards the end, as there are some close calls between the family being reconnected. After awhile, it just seemed a little obvious they were trying to get you more emotional invested, but believe me, I was close to tears at a few times, but you would expect that with this movie.

I would say this is one you should see and make sure you check it out in theaters, just to really get the full effect of seeing it on the big screen as I am not sure a viewing on your TV will be as powerful.