A horrific look at one of the biggest natural disasters in human history

Rating: 8/10 (22 August 2018)

No matter how different people are from each other, there is always an event that seems to bring people together. Unfortunately, it is usually when something bad happens and such a thing happened on Christmas of 2004 in Southeast Asia when a Tsunami hit many countries in the area. One of the countries that was hit the hardest was Thailand and this movie clearly shows the devastation of the horrific event.
The movie is about a family of 5 - two parents (Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor) and their three kids (one of whom is played by a young Tom Holland). They are vacationing in Thailand. They are having a wonderful Christmas when, all of a sudden, a tsunami hits the streets and literally destroys everything in its path, tearing the family apart.
Before I get to the amazing performances - and indeed they are amazing - I must start off with the wave sequence itself. Everybody that was a part of this sequence deserves an Oscar for their stellar work. Although horrific, every aspect of it is beautifully done. We see people getting hit around by debris under water; we see people hanging on to fallen trees for dear life; we see people struggling to stay afloat amidst the roaring waves. J.A. Bayona has created a great sequence in a great movie and he really should have been recognized a lot more for this movie.
That being said, it really is the performances that sell this movie more than anything. Naomi Watts gives one of the best performances of her career, earning the Oscar nomination for her part in the film. She spends about 2/3 of the film beaten, bruised and looking nothing like a Hollywood star, and you can really see the emotions that are going through her head. There's one particularly scene towards the end where she says something that will make your heart break. I won't say what it is, but you'll know when she says it. Ewan McGregor also gives an unbelievable performance; seriously, when is the Academy going to honor this man? He really deserved the Oscar nomination for Moulin Rouge and he deserved it here too. I really hope that he gets recognized someday because he really deserves it. However, the true star of the show here is future Spider-Man himself, Tom Holland. Even before he was saving people with his webslinging abilities, he was saving them with his compassion in this movie! He spends the movie helping a lot of people - whether it's his family or other families. When he sees the other families reuniting when his has not, you can really see the mixed feelings of joy and pain in his face. A mature actor who will one day get an Oscar.
My one complaint about this movie: I wish that they had spent a bit more time on Ewan McGregor's character and the two younger boys. Once the wave hits, we spend a lot of time with Naomi Watts and Tom Holland, but there is a moment in which Ewan McGregor tells his little boys that he was the most scared when he saw that he was alone and then he saw his two little boys and that he wasn't scared anymore. That would have been such a great moment to see on film and it really would have made the movie even better in my opinion.
All in all, a beautiful movie with superb performances all around. Definitely a great movie!