"The Best Film Of 2012"

Rating: 10/10 (12 March 2018)

The raw intensity displayed in The Impossible is enough to reign uncontrollable emotion upon the audience, as J.A Bayona has crafted a flick about clinging onto hope, while also going to insane lengths to depict the most brutal and honest vision of the tragic 2004 tsunami, which so happened to tangle an innocent tourist family in the act. And this is their story conveyed through cinema.
The Impossible is one of the most emotionally powerful movies I have ever seen, from the standpoint of the acting to the precision-based directing. It wrenches through the hearts of those who dare to experience the mesmerizing picture, but at the same time, it's absolutely worth it for the satisfying arc about holding onto hope, and the importance of family.
The performances are harrowing, dunked in realism, and involve the viewer with the characters as well as the central situation that they are plagued with. Ewan McGregor gives what I personally think is his greatest acting performance yet, Naomi Watts is forced with a lot of roundabouts and tough situations but manages to be as great as ever, and the children performances including Tom Holland were charming and added another great element to the overall grand scope of this movie.
One sequence in the movie, about half-way through the first act, was so intensely real and crafted with so much mastery, that I'm ashamed of the lack of praise J.A Bayona has been receiving. This man is a wonderful talent, and a clear rivalry of Steven Spielberg, who has been recognized for the way he visualizes stories and art through screen, but unfortunately he still has not received the amount of praise that he deserves. The fact that he was not nominated for best director at the 2013 Oscars, SCARES ME.
The Impossible is one of the most incredible film experiences I have been treated to in the past few decades, as it depicts the true horror and affect of the 2004 tsunami, but also sparks hope. Hope that keeps people holding on. It is acted with a tremendous amount of investment and care, directed with an admirable amount of effort, and shot with the kind of realism that only true filmmakers can implement so intensely. The Impossible is the best film of 2012, without a shadow of a doubt.