History YMMV / TheImpossible

* TearJerker:
** The scene of Lucas and Maria being pulled out to sea.
** Henry crying on the phone to Maria's father.
** The guy helping Henry. All he has of his girlfriend and 2-year-old daughter is a note saying, "Gone to the beach."

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome. Not just the tsunami (which was a combination of CGI, an outdoor set and water tank and miniatures), but the make-up effects for the injuries are disturbingly realistic. What else can you expect from [[Film/PansLabyrinth make-up team Monte Ribse and David Marti]].

* UnfortunateImplications: The film [[https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/whitewashing-ithe-impossiblei-20130131-2dmes.html got]] [[https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/jan/02/attempting-the-impossible-asian-roles heavy]] [[https://slate.com/culture/2012/12/the-impossible-debate-is-the-tsunami-movie-racist-and-offensive.html criticism]] for choosing to make the protagonists a white family despite the disaster happening in Thailand and affecting mainly Thai people.

* UnfortunateImplications: The film got heavy criticism for the RaceLift involved -- choosing to make the protagonists a white family despite the disaster happening in Thailand.

* AwardSnub: Tom Holland not getting an Oscar nomination, though was a long shot.

%%* AngstAversion: This is ''not'' an easy film to watch.
* AwardSnub: Tom Holland not getting an Oscar nominations and Creator/NaomiWatts not winning for Best Actress (though she was a long shot anyway).
%%* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Maria's surgery scene.
* BrokenBase: The film got some criticism for the RaceLift involved -- choosing to make the protagonists a white family despite the disaster happening in Thailand. Others, including several survivors, protested these criticisms.
-->"Had this film been purely about the tale of a western middle class family's 'ruined' holiday then I would have agreed. For me, it was the exact opposite. Rather than concentrating on the 'privileged white visitors', the film portrayed the profound sense of community and unity that I experienced in Thailand, with this family at the centre of it. Both for my (then) 16-year-old self and the Belón family, it was the Thai people who waded through the settled water after the first wave had struck to help individuals and families... The Thai people had just lost everything – homes, businesses, families – yet their instinct was to help the tourists."

* BrokenBase: The film got some criticism for the RaceLift involved - choosing to make the protagonists a white family despite the disaster happening in Thailand. Others, including several survivors, protested these criticisms.
--> "Had this film been purely about the tale of a western middle class family's 'ruined' holiday then I would have agreed. For me, it was the exact opposite. Rather than concentrating on the 'privileged white visitors', the film portrayed the profound sense of community and unity that I experienced in Thailand, with this family at the centre of it. Both for my (then) 16-year-old self and the Belón family, it was the Thai people who waded through the settled water after the first wave had struck to help individuals and families... The Thai people had just lost everything – homes, businesses, families – yet their instinct was to help the tourists."

** Maria [[BodyHorror puking a fishing line.]]

* RetroactiveRecognition: Lucas would eventually grow up to become [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse Spiderman]].

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome. Not just the tsunami (which was a combination of CGI, an outdoor set and water tank and miniatures), but the make-up effects for the injuries are disturbingly realistic. What else can you expect from [[Film/PansLabyrinth make-up team Monte Ribse and David Marti]].

* AngstAversion: [[TearJerker This is]] ''[[NauseaFuel not]]'' [[AdultFear an easy film]] [[SchmuckBait to watch.]]

* TearJerker: Special mention to the scenes of Lucas and Maria being pulled out to sea, and Henry crying on the phone to Maria's father.

* NauseaFuel: Maria [[BodyHorror puking a fishing line.]]

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Maria's surgery scene.
* [[JustHereForGodzilla Just Here for the Tsunami]]

* UnfortunateImplications: The film was [[http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/jan/02/attempting-the-impossible-asian-roles criticized]] for focusing on a [[LeadYouCanRelateTo white European tourist family]] in a tsunami that killed over 200,000 Asian people.
** in fairness it is a story about one family's ordeal as a opposed to the disaster as a whole and they were staying in a resort popular with European tourists during the peak season so it's reasonable that most of the victims they encountered were also European. However the movie would have you believe the only victims were European tourists.
** There was a lot of controversy when the movie was first advertised, due to the fact that the nationality of the family was changed from Spanish to British.
** even more egregious is how the movie implies everything is fine now that they're leaving while the natives are left in ruins and some areas will take generations to recover.
** The fact that the only uncaring jerk in the entire film is one of only three Americans in the entire movie. All three have a combined total of about 45 seconds of screen time.
** Somewhat averted with the hospital though as the doctors, staff, and other emergency workers are all depicted as extremely competent in the face of a catastrophe no hospital in the world is equipped to deal with.

* UnfortunateImplications: The film was [[http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/jan/02/attempting-the-impossible-asian-roles criticized]] for focusing a white European tourist family in a tsunami that killed over 200,000 Asian people.

** . The fact that the only uncaring jerk in the entire film is one of only three Americans in the entire movie. All three have a grand total of about 45 seconds of screen time.
** . Somewhat averted with the hospital though as the doctors, staff, and other emergency workers are all depicted as extremely competent in the face of a catastrophe no hospital in the world is equipped to deal with.