While it’s not uncommon to see foreign action or genre movies hit North American cinema screens, disaster movies are a pretty expensive and poppy genre. For better or worse, Hollywood usually handles most of the world’s expensive pop. Yet here comes ‘The Wave’, a big ol’ disaster flick from Norway with all the CGI and flammable bells ‘n whistles. It’s a pretty good one too, filled with some fantastic set-pieces.

That being said, it’s still a disaster movie, so there’s not much to the experience beyond the stirring spectacle, despite the presence of subtitles. ‘The Wave’ is no masterpiece, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun and frequently beats Roland Emmerich at his own game with only a fraction of the resources. That’s certainly an accomplishment, even if it’s not exactly the most noble or artistic of filmmaking achievements.

Kristoffer Joner stars as Kristian, a geologist working his last day in a magnificently beautiful tourist town. He’s spent a great deal of time monitoring the area for potential rockslides that could lead to a tsunami that would wipe out the little picturesque village he calls home. These are actually fairly common in Norway and bring about all the localized death and destruction one would expect. Kristian is fairly convinced from his findings that one of these unfortunate events is heading his way, so he’s rather relieved to be moving to tsunami free pastures. He’s already packed up the house, but plans to spend the night there with his adorable little daughter (Edith Haagenrud-Sande) so that she can bid farewell to the old home. Elsewhere, Kristian’s wife (Ane Dahl Torp) is working the graveyard shift at the local hotel and their skateboarding (i.e. super cool) teen son (Jonas Hoff Oftebro) is spending the night there as well. That means that this darling family unit is separated. It really would be a shame if that rockslide/tsunami prediction came true, wouldn’t it? Hmmm….

As a decidedly European twist on the genre, this is more a movie about a natural disaster than a disaster movie. The film takes its time in the first half setting up characters and the locale before starting all the disaster spectacle. It’s not an art film, though. The characters are fairly stock types invested with brooding performances to give them an illusion of depth in an attempt to endear them to viewers more deeply than, say, anyone other than The Rock in ‘San Andreas’. Director Roar Thaug (whose spectacular name demands that he enjoy a career in genre movies) uses drab, underlit visuals to create a sense of dread before anything goes wrong. The movie isn’t a depression fest, but it does have that distinctly European air of melancholy hanging over everything that sets a nice mood as the director gradually builds up suspense toward things going south.

When the rockslide/tsunami finally hits, things get hairy fast. Characters have mere minutes to flee the scene, which obviously doesn’t work out particularly well for anyone. Unfortunately, the rocks and waves are obviously created through CGI, and though the effects are strong, things feel a little phony. It’s odd to see such a contained and realistic disaster sequence presented through a visual language that we’ve come to expect will stretch reality to comic book extremes. Still, Roar Thaug (once again, damn, what a name!) deliverd some big thrills that feel frighteningly real thanks to all the time spent establishing an identifiable setting and relatable characters. After that, it’s all about the family finding each other through a variety of claustrophobic locations that are either lined with flaming wreckage or filled with a slowly rising water line. Tension mounts, danger looms, death seems inevitable, an atmospheric score bellows, and humble folks transform into heroes. Sure, you’ve seen it all before, but it works so well that you likely won’t care.

‘The Wave’ isn’t exactly the most innovative film to arrive on screens this week, nor is it destined to be fondly remembered as a classic of the genre. However, the movie succeeds because the filmmakers foster no illusions or pretentions about what they’re making. It’s a technically accomplished and undeniably tense run through the disaster movie paces, featuring well-crafted characters elevated by excellent performances. Call it a B+ movie. You know what you’re getting, but you rarely get it this good. That’ll do just fine. In fact, given how dire and predictable Hollywood disaster movies have gotten in the comic book blockbuster era, it’s actually refreshing to see an entry that gives actors a chance to work and never treats the audience like a bunch of idiots. Good job, Roar Uthaug. I hope it’s not the last time that I hear from you, if only because I’ll never forget your name.