Skjelvet (2018) Reviews

• To be honest I preferred The Wave (Bolgen).

  deloudelouvain2019-02-07

  The prequel of this movie was The Wave (Bolgen) and was slightly better than The Quake (Skjelvet), but I still rate it the same because there are some moments of suspense towards the end even though it were also those same moments that were annoying at some point. Annoying because of the characters having a little chat or emotional moments while the only thing they had to think about was trying to escape death and disaster. It just didn't make any sense and therefor it brings the ratings down. The actors were the same as in The Wave but again I thought they did a better job in the prequel, maybe due to the story telling this time. But if you like disaster movies it's worth watching once. To me it could have been much better if there were more disastrous moments and lesser emotional moments. When you fight for your life there is just no time for sentiments.

• The seismic expert did what?

  rblonar2018-09-22

  Seismic Expert on the top floor of a large hotel: " we got to get out of here! There is an earthquake coming!" Steps into the elevator...

• Not even close to its prequel!

  Sull-Aura2018-12-31

  It's sad but true. The wave was amazing not just because of its suspense, but also because its characters'actions made sense. And what makes this one even worse is that they are the same characters only stupid! I didn't mind the slow build to the the actual disaster; what annoyed me the most was how everyone was lame and slow and just unbelievably wrong when it comes to their reactions! Scenes where they're supposed to be running for their lives, but instead having melodramatic moments. Human instincts don't work that way or else there would never be any survivors in any life-threatening situation ever! It was so irritating to watch them behave this way after the amazing performance of the previous film! It was a disappointment.

• An emotional triumph

  Bml-932018-09-01

  THE QUAKE is surprisingly good. A Norwegian disaster movie and special effects extravaganza that actually understands that its characters are far more important than the spectacle of its action and effects. THE QUAKE is by all means an intense nail-biter when it comes to the action - and it is frightening to see Oslo destroyed, but the real drama in THE QUAKE comes from the main character and his struggles with the aftermath of the events that occurred in THE WAVE (yes, this is a sequel) and how that has affected his relationship to his family. It's just damn solid character development and it is at times emotionally devastating. That THE QUAKE so successfully manages to be an emotionally engaging character drama makes the whole film so much more interesting. There's been made a countless number of disaster movies already, but so many of them fails to properly invest enough time into their own characters. Reducing them to nothing more than pawns to place the visual effects around and to be sacrificed without much thought. The fact that we're so emotionally invested in the lead character and his family gives this film a lot of stakes. We genuinely fear for them. We care about them. We want them to get out safely. It makes THE QUAKE so much more intense and entertaining to watch. There are certain flaws present - such as minor plot points that slightly lacks some sort of resolution. This is however not a big deal, as THE QUAKE is an intense, well-shot disaster movie that manages to be emotionally engaging and beautiful in its human drama.

• 2 different movies...

  kelli-redes2018-09-02

  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.