The first half of this film was excellent! It was exciting and engaging, and for those of us who live in the Oslo area, especially close to home. We really enjoyed the build up....
But then the quake hit, and the movie just...well..crumbled down.
It spent about half the time in an elevator shaft, and the other half watching the daughter battle a tipping building in of course the one of 3 or 4 "skyscrapers" in Oslo (30 something floors).
It lost connection with the audience, as it no longer was something that "people" would go through - only the story of the 4 main characters. Not only that, but it was extremely frustrating.
Here is the real killer. SPOILER ALERT:
If it Kristian had not been there, or at least made one different decision (to smash in the fire alarm when he first walked into the hotel)...then:
-His wife wouldn't have died (she probably would have taken the stairs like everyone else) -His daughter would never have been in that building so would have been fine -His action to save his son did absolutely nothing anyway, so the outcome of his son and the others at the University would have been exactly the same.
Or, if Kristian had not been involved at all...the outcome would have been exactly the same (his wife died, everyone else okay) - so he was actually completely pointless.
It could have been interesting if they kept up the tempo they had in the start, or included what happened outside the story of his wife and daughter/how his research affected others in the city/anything else really? But it was a bummer that after the quake, the entire movie lost momentum, and focused on 1. getting out of the elevator shafts to their daughter 2. saving their daughter.
The audience actually laughed at the rediculousness of it when the film ended.
Previously, I really enjoyed "The Wave" and had perhaps, too high expectations for this film. It was the first time we have been to the movies and left actually disappointed.
I would wait to see it at home, if at all.
But then the quake hit, and the movie just...well..crumbled down.
It spent about half the time in an elevator shaft, and the other half watching the daughter battle a tipping building in of course the one of 3 or 4 "skyscrapers" in Oslo (30 something floors).
It lost connection with the audience, as it no longer was something that "people" would go through - only the story of the 4 main characters. Not only that, but it was extremely frustrating.
Here is the real killer. SPOILER ALERT:
If it Kristian had not been there, or at least made one different decision (to smash in the fire alarm when he first walked into the hotel)...then:
-His wife wouldn't have died (she probably would have taken the stairs like everyone else) -His daughter would never have been in that building so would have been fine -His action to save his son did absolutely nothing anyway, so the outcome of his son and the others at the University would have been exactly the same.
Or, if Kristian had not been involved at all...the outcome would have been exactly the same (his wife died, everyone else okay) - so he was actually completely pointless.
It could have been interesting if they kept up the tempo they had in the start, or included what happened outside the story of his wife and daughter/how his research affected others in the city/anything else really? But it was a bummer that after the quake, the entire movie lost momentum, and focused on 1. getting out of the elevator shafts to their daughter 2. saving their daughter.
The audience actually laughed at the rediculousness of it when the film ended.
Previously, I really enjoyed "The Wave" and had perhaps, too high expectations for this film. It was the first time we have been to the movies and left actually disappointed.
I would wait to see it at home, if at all.