Natural-Disaster Movie Mission Accomplished!

Rating: 8/10 (24 February 2013)

It is a mission impossible if I don't include puns in my movie reviews. And that is the case also in my review for the tsunami–themed film "The Impossible". One of the worst global catastrophes happened when I inadvertently put a "new wave" spin to movie reviews by pestering them with puns. OK, I am kidding, even though some of you might concur with that sentiment. In reality, one of the worst global catastrophes ever was the 2004 Thailand tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people. "The Impossible" is based on a true story of one family that miraculously survived the Thaliand tsunami disaster. Naomi Watts stars as the mother of the family named Maria; she is a doctor who visits Thailand for a Christmas vacation with her husband Henry and their three sons Lucas, Thomas, and Simon. Maria gets seriously injured in the tsunami and separates from Henry, Thomas, and Simon. Maria does find the eldest son Lucas in the rapid tsunami waters. Therefore, Lucas' mission is to get help for her profoundly injured mother; while Henry, Thomas, and Simon's mission is to find Maria and Lucas. Director Juan Antonio Bayona's impressive reenactment of the Thailand tsunami on film was quite a feat for this aspiring filmmaker. His directorial future is nowhere close to being a disaster. Now, I did have some minor complaints with Sergio Sanchez' screenplay; even though it proficiently verbalized the power of the human spirit, it was lacking a bit of character development, so I was not entirely swept away with Sanchez' scribe. Naomi Watts was outstanding in her Oscar-nominated leading performance as Maria. The underrated Ewan McGregor was also exceptional as Henry. And child actor Tom Holland is headed to Hollandwood, I mean Hollywood child stardom with his stirring performance as Lucas. What I found to be the most disastrous in the aftermath of "The Impossible" was the disheartening omission of a Best Production Design Oscar nomination for "The Impossible"; I guess the "old wave" of geriatric Academy members did not catch the brilliance of Production Designer Eugenio Caballero's work in the movie. I do think "The Impossible" is an emotionally-charged movie that will make it impossible for you not to shed a watering tear. So make it possible to catch "The Impossible". **** Good