Natural disaster movies in recent memory have been schlocky and over the top. Cold air chased Jake Gyllenhaal through a library in THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW. The Rock practically punched an earthquake in the face in SAN ANDREAS. All the emphasis is placed on the effects and the destruction with very little effort put into making the audience care about the characters who are almost certainly facing certain death.
THE WAVE looks to be a breath of fresh air in that area, even though you’re probably going to need an oxygen mask to help you survive beneath all that water on the way when all is said and done.
Directed by Roar Uthaug, who you’ll find helming the next TOMB RAIDER for 2017, THE WAVE tells the story of this small Norwegian village facing the constant threat of a devasting natural disaster that would come from the nearby mountain collapsing into the fjord – something that has happened once before in history. It’s only a matter of time before it happens again… and yep, you guessed it. That time is now.
Racing against the clock – 10 minutes to be exact – before the tsunami wipes out everything and everyone not on high ground, THE WAVE looks like one intense experience that may teach the big-budget blockbusters a thing or two about how to improve and matter as something more than spectacle.
THE WAVE can be found in select theatres, on Amazon Video and on iTunes as of March 4.