The Hollywood Reporter

The Impossible is one of the most emotionally realistic disaster movies in recent memory -- and certainly one of the most frightening in its epic re-creation of the catastrophic 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Observer by Rex Reed

Put a staggering accomplishment called The Impossible, from Spanish director J. A. Bayona, at the top of the season's must-see list.

Variety by Justin Chang

Wrenchingly acted, deftly manipulated and terrifyingly well made.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Joe Williams

Perilous incidents have riveted audiences since Pauline was tied to the railroad tracks, but in the hundred-year history of cinema, few thrillers have been as emotionally compelling as The Impossible.

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

Here is a searing film of human tragedy.

The Hollywood Reporter by Deborah Young

The Impossible is one of the most emotionally realistic disaster movies in recent memory -- and certainly one of the most frightening in its epic re-creation of the catastrophic 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Portland Oregonian by Marc Mohan

An extraordinarily gut-wrenching, intense story of survival against all odds.

Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern

Yet it's not just the visuals that make the movie what it is, a thrilling, if also punishing, tale of heroic endurance. The Impossible, based on a true story, derives most of its impressive power from two remarkable performances: Naomi Watts as Maria, and Tom Holland as Lucas.

Time by Mary Pols

The Impossible is technologically a marvel - the tsunami experience is harrowingly believable - but also emotionally rich. I hesitate to use this term, since it is so often equated with hokey, but The Impossible is life-affirming.

Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea

Watts is extraordinary - she manages both the physical and emotional demands of the role, with soul-deep conviction.

Rolling Stone by Peter Travers

The go-for-broke intensity and emotional layering Watts brings to her role is an acting triumph. And McGregor matches her in a performance of ferocity and feeling.

Total Film

Marshalling formidable technique and force of feeling, Bayona's tale of courage and empathy in the face of catastrophe fulfils his debut's promise, its harrowing conviction hammered home even harder by the spot-on casting.

The Guardian

Part of the appeal of this affecting and powerful drama is that it puts the viewer right in the moment at every stage, using authentic locations and tsunami survivors to hammer home the reality of this tragedy.

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

The film's adult leads, Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor, give powerful, natural performances.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Rick Groen

The Impossible looks back at a natural calamity with unflinching honesty. It sees fear and pain, it sees fortitude and bravery, but mainly it sees this: In that raging instant when the sea becomes its own monster, there's precious little to separate the devoured from the spared – nothing but the thin wedge of luck.

IndieWire by Eric Kohn

It suffers from the greater problem of emphasizing a feel-good plot within the context of mass destruction.

Movieline

The latter half of The Impossible is so disappointingly movie-ish, tying a bow on the events after portraying them too vividly to allow them to be wrapped so neatly. It wrings out tears with an industrious efficiency that leaves you feeling manhandled after the exhilarating, terrifying footage that's unfolded before.

Slant Magazine by Ed Gonzalez

A sham realist's disaster movie, tackily insulting the deaths of 300,000 people by reducing the horrors of the Indian Ocean tsunami to a series of genre titillations.