--- title: "The Impossible: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-impossible/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-impossible" critics_score: 61 critics_reviews: 21 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Impossible (2012): what the critics said Critics' score 61 from 21 reviews: 10 positive, 4 mixed, 7 negative. The reviews lean modestly positive, with broad agreement on the force of the tsunami sequence and much less agreement on the drama around it. Critics repeatedly praise the effects, editing and sound for making the disaster frighteningly physical. Naomi Watts and Tom Holland attract particular praise, especially for their scenes together. Supporters find that the close attention to one family makes an immense catastrophe emotionally comprehensible without softening its horror. The spread is wide, and the reservations concern both sentimentality and whose suffering receives attention. Several critics find the later melodrama overworked, even when the performances move them. Empire admires the physical filmmaking but questions the emphasis on Western victims over Asian victims. Slant Magazine takes that objection much further, condemning the treatment of Thai people chiefly as helpers to white survivors. The central divide is over whether the family focus brings intimacy or an unacceptable narrowing of the tragedy. ## The Hollywood Reporter — Deborah Young Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. Festival review. The critic calls it an emotionally realistic and frightening disaster film, praising its sustained tension and performances. She singles out Tom Holland’s portrayal of Lucas and the tsunami sequence’s visceral impact. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/impossible-toronto-review-369260/) ## Los Angeles Times — Betsy Sharkey Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2012. Sharkey finds the film profoundly moving and affecting, praising its balance between disaster spectacle and intimate family drama. She particularly singles out the poignant bond between Maria and Lucas and the sensitivity with which the film depicts the tsunami’s human cost. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-dec-20-la-et-mn-the-impossible-20121221-story.html) ## The Guardian — Damon Wise Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 12 September 2012. Festival review. Wise finds the film affecting and powerful, praising its emotional immediacy and human scale. He singles out Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor’s performances, especially Watts’s scenes with Tom Holland. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/sep/12/impossible-review) ## Total Film — Kevin Harley Rating 4/5. 9 December 2012. Harley finds the film smart, sensitive and deeply affecting, praising Bayona’s careful balance of tragedy and hope. He singles out the tsunami sequence’s visceral force and the cast’s performances, especially Naomi Watts and Tom Holland. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-impossible-review/) ## Variety — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. Festival review. Chang praises the film as a harrowing, masterfully made disaster drama, while noting that its emotional manipulation and imposed-feeling conclusion blunt its later impact. He singles out the visceral tsunami sequence and detailed soundscape for their extraordinary physical intensity. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2012/film/markets-festivals/the-impossible-1117948281/) ## Empire — Guy Lodge Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 21 August 2012. Lodge finds the film a rousing, superbly acted feat of physical filmmaking, despite its Anglicised approach to the tragedy. He praises the tsunami sequence’s effects and sound design, while criticizing the focus on Western victims over Asian victims. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/impossible-review/) ## IndieWire — Eric Kohn Rating B-. 10 September 2012. Festival review. Kohn finds the film a visceral technical achievement weakened by overwrought sentimentality. He particularly praises Bayona’s terrifying, visually striking reconstruction of the tsunami. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/toronto-review-juan-antonio-bayonas-the-impossible-is-an-intense-realization-of-the-2004-tsunami-at-odds-with-overstated-sentimentalism-241703/) ## Screen Daily — Allan Hunter Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 11 September 2012. The accessible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It also does not show what the critic praised or criticized. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/the-impossible/5046439.article) ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict is unavailable. No specific praise or complaint could be verified. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-impossible-2012) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The page returned an access error, so the critic’s verdict cannot be verified. No specific praise or complaint can be reliably identified from the available text. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/21/movies/the-impossible-with-naomi-watts-and-ewan-mcgregor.html) ## Evening Standard — The Standard Rating 3/5. 3 June 2013. The critic finds the film tremendously powerful, though at times relentlessly tearful and over-manipulative. The immersive, superbly edited tsunami sequence is singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-impossible-review-8438065.html) ## Time Out — Eric Hynes Rating 2/5. 10 December 2012. Hynes gives the film 2/5, faulting its framing of global calamity through a white perspective. The available text singles out that perspective as the central complaint. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-impossible) ## The Independent — Anthony Quinn Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 4 January 2013. Quinn finds the film technically impressive and emotionally affecting, but ultimately complacent and insensitive in narrowing a mass tragedy to one privileged Western family. He especially praises Naomi Watts’s performance and the tsunami’s vivid, forceful depiction. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/film-review-the-impossible-naomi-watts-makes-waves-but-it-s-not-a-perfect-storm-8437566.html) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 25 July 2018. Ebiri criticizes the film as manipulative and tactless, despite praising its direction and performances. He singles out Naomi Watts’s compelling physical performance while faulting the story’s focus on a white family amid the largely ignored suffering of Thai survivors. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2012/12/movie-review-the-impossible.html) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Rating 0.5/4. 22 November 2012. The critic condemns the film as a tasteless disaster spectacle that distorts the tsunami’s human toll. He especially objects to its erasure of Thai suffering, portraying local people chiefly as helpers to white survivors. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-impossible/) ## HeyUGuys — Kenji Lloyd Rating 5/5. 14 September 2012. Festival review. The critic calls the film a powerful, harrowing must-see and praises its emotional impact. He singles out Ewan McGregor’s breakdown scene and describes his performance as Oscar-worthy. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/tiff-2012-the-impossible-review/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2012. The critic finds it an intense, intimate family drama that effectively conveys the family’s bravery and resourcefulness. Naomi Watts’s largely wordless performance is singled out as the standout. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/impossible-review-its-horrifying-tsunami-and-you-are-there-70286/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 2 January 2013. Wilkinson finds the film visceral and compelling, though knowingly melodramatic and emotionally manipulative. She singles out its disaster effects and the strong performances, especially Tom Holland's. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-impossible-2012-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## The Skinny — Jamie Dunn Rating ★★. 1 January 2013. Dunn finds the film crippled by its focus on a British family during an Asian disaster, despite its effective opening. He praises the realistic tsunami sequence and Tom Holland’s standout performance, but criticizes the later melodrama. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-impossible) ## Collider — Harrison Pierce Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 3 June 2013. The critic finds the film well-made and acted but ultimately unsuccessful as either conventional disaster entertainment or fully devastating drama. They praise the tsunami sequence’s realism and intensity, while faulting the film for narrowing its focus and failing to convey the scale of the tragedy. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-impossible-blu-ray-review/) ## The Playlist Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). The headline signals a negative verdict, describing the film as overwrought and drowning in melodrama. The available page does not reveal a specific element the critic singles out beyond its melodramatic tone. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-overwrought-the-impossible-drowns-in-a-sea-of-melodrama-20121221/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-impossible.md