The Wave (2016), R, ★★★

Wow! What a disaster.

Remember Jaws? Well, everybody, maybe, does. But, this movie from Norway plays like a similar movie of the Steven Spielberg classic. I say that because of the main storyline which I will get to later. But, for a disaster movie with a low budget, this is profound. With some of the scientific analyses regarding the waves and the type of mayhem that'll cause for the mountain-town of Gerainger. But, as a movie, even though this is a formulaic disaster picture, there are characters that we, the audience, care about and identify with as they are in that terrible and perilous situation. It is a solid disaster movie of a sort.

A mountain-based town, Gerainger, with a problem regarding a potential rockslide as Norway has been threatened with many unstable rockslides. A geologist named Kristian (Kristoffer Joner) is living peacefully with his wife, Idun (Ane Dahl Torp) and his children which includes Sondre, their son. (Jonas Hoff Oftbero) The next day, he goes to work in one of his last days in a workplace and after his co-workers congratulate him, he hears a beeping sound which is an alarm from the control room. Kristian investigates as he sees his team looking at numbers spike drastically as Kristian foreshadows the worst-case scenarios.

Kristin does not want to leave as he understating the catastrophic danger that is looming in the distance. But when his conscience kicks in as he is about to leave, he turns the car around and heads back to the office. He urges the danger since a lot of places are right above sea level including the hotel in which Idun is working which 1.7 meters above sea level. But, again in that leadership role in which Roy Scheider plays in Jaws, he wants to stay and try to protect as many people as possible to get to safety.

What is this, Inception?

There is a sequence that plays in a real time that is spectacular and you guessed it, it's the wave sequence. It's a magnificent sequence that will get you to grip your arm-rest in the theatre because it is an experience to witness and behold. It's well-executed and we get to some faces in peril.

However, even though there are some exhilarating sequences, which one takes place underwater something reminiscent of James Cameron's underrated movie, The Abyss. But, we have some formulaic issues in its storylines as to how the characters will end up and how also reminiscent it is with other movies, especially Jaws, and that's what bothered me the most. But, again, the movie is more intelligent than stupid and more dramatic because we follow these intelligent characters and it is not cartoonish whatsoever. Director Roar Uthaug crafts a solid disaster picture that balances the intelligence, drama and visuals with such awe despite some disaster cliches.

***