It has the time-honoured cliche disaster tropes but Norway make disaster flicks such as The Wave which shows Rolland Emmerich how to make a great looking disaster flick at a fraction! Ahead of it’s second appearance in UK in Film 4 Frightfest at Glasgow Film Festival, we get a look at U.S trailer which shows Mother Nature unleash her punishment on the human race…
It was only the matter of time is the slogan of this epic blockbuster disaster flick but also a warning shot to Hollywood. There’s a new kid on the block and the Norwegians even entered this film as their Oscar entry, so they do mean business!
In The Wave (Bølgen) we meet the experienced geologist Kristian Eikfjord has accepted a job offer out of town. He is getting ready to move from the city of Geiranger with his family when he and his colleagues measure small geological changes in the underground. Kristian gets worried, and his worst nightmare is about to come true when the alarm goes off and the disaster is inevitable. With less than 10 minutes to react, it becomes a race against time to save as many as possible, including his own family.
Director Roar Uthaug’s film has won many plaudits during it’s festival run , so it was no surprise Hollywood would come calling and they did landing the filmmaker the Tomb Raider film.It’s like an attempt to ‘Americanize’ your film instead of Hollywood attempting to do it to a foreign film. After last year’s San Andreas which looked fantastic on the big screen, overall it was a complete mess. This is a conventional films on all levels but one that impresses which don’t need to be full of household names (Kristoffer Joner probably most well known , currently starring in The Revenant), to grip and enthrall.
No word on the UK release date including what format (Cinema or home release). Studiocanal will be distributing The Wave in UK (Magnolia Pictures USA 4th March), film co-stars Thomas Bo Larsen, Ane Dahl Torp.
