The Impossible

   After the first five minutes of The Impossible I was concerned that it was going to be a total flop. The film begins with the family on a plane to Thailand. The script was corny and the acting even more so. It didn't help that Naomi Watts' voice seemed to be out of sink, but this could have been the cinema's fault. However, after this rickety start the film got going the moment the tsunami hit. The tsunami was incredibly well shot and the special effects were bang on.
   The story follows Maria (Naomi Watts) and the oldest son Lucas, as they manage to survive the tsunami and try to find their way to safety. Maria's husband, Henry, played by Ewan McGregor becomes more prominent in the second half of the film as he searches for the rest of his family.
   There are a lot of edge of the seat moments, as well as upsetting scenes as you feel their pain and anxieties as they try and reunite and battle through the worst natural disaster of modern times. I feel the director, Juan Antonio Bayona did a great job of capturing the right mood of what would have been an incredibly confusing, upsetting and traumatic situation for hundreds of thousands of people.
   The Impossible is a very good film, though I found it quite upsetting, so this may not be one for the overly sensitive.

For fans of true stories, emotional films and great special effects.

Stars ****