The Impossible

The Impossible

Jay's Rating: 4 out of 10

I thought this movie was ok, but just too much blood, gore, and pitiful screaming. Seeing it was just too much for me. This movie is about a family who survives a deadly tsunami, and are split up. The rest of the movie is basically them trying to find each other in all of the destruction. I thought the tsunami scene was very realistic, almost too realistic. I didn’t like this movie as much as other movies because of the amount of bloodiness. The one scene that made me want to just walk out of the theater was when a patient is shown puking up a mixture of seaweed and blood. I really thought the person was puking up their own guts. I don’t recommend this movie for anyone under 14, it’s just too intense. The story is amazing, but overall, I regret seeing it.

Mom’s Rating: 7

First off, I never should have taken my sons, including my blogging partner Jay, to this movie.  I apologize- major parenting fail! It was way, way too intense.  I was prepared for the tsunami sequence to be rough, but I thought after that it would be more in the triumph of the human spirit vein. I particularly wanted to see it with my sons since it is about a mother and son around their age struggling together for survival.  Well, even though you knew the whole family would survive and be reunited in the end, there were a lot of brutal, visceral challenges along the way- it was unremitting up until the very end.  This movie was intensely realistic and it affected me deeply, even (especially?) when it was hard to watch.  I was particularly moved by the performance of the oldest son- an early teen. He shows so much emotional range- from too cool to take off his headphones and hang out with his family to terrified little boy who is desperately afraid of losing his mother to suddenly having to be the man of the family and take on the physical and logistical challenges of keeping his mother alive. Often you see these different emptions flash across his face in seconds. Naomi Watts was also excellent in the gritty unglamorous role of the gravely injured mother.  I recommend The Impossible but not for kids under 15 or so and not if you fear the water or are planning any tropical vacations in the near future.