With notable actors and quality CGI effects showcased in the teasers, one would think The Great Flood would be the film worth watching this year. However, the perplexing storyline and unexpected twists might have made this survival thriller a natural movie disaster.
The Great Flood takes place in Seoul and starts with An Na (Kim Da Mi) waking up to her needy son, Ja In, begging to be played with. All seems normal for the first five minutes in, but director Kim Byung Woo wasted no time in setting the scene and cuts right to the chase with imminent danger just around the corner. Water floods the apartment, and An Na receives a mysterious phone call regarding her mission.
Despite the mystery of the message, the rush of events catapults viewers into an edge-of-your-seat moment as An Na navigates through the chaos. Rising water, unexpected hurdles, and brutal tidal waves smashing through the apartments: all these scenarios have characters escaping with barely an ounce of air left to breathe. Ironically so, viewers wait with bated breath, anticipating how the characters survive every circumstance.
Despite the lack of story building, it is easy to grow attached to An Na’s character solely because of her unwavering responsibility to protect her child. Kim Da Mi is known for her sassier character roles, but this time she portrayed a lot of heavy emotions and felt genuine in her interactions. Despite the child being quite annoying, his behaviors are realistic and make for good plot devices, such as when they are quite often separated from each other during the most crucial of times.
Park Hae Soo also thickens the plot with his rugged character, Hee Jo, who is solely focused on his mission to secure and guide An Na and her child to safety, as they are the key to saving humanity. His mysterious mission and character’s concrete style make him a great contrast to An Na. He is rational, logical, and oriented to doing what is needed to survive. It helps viewers ponder just how they might be in such a precarious situation.
Unfortunately, the quality of acting isn’t enough to save the film from its mediocre plot. It feels like a borrowed, seen-it-before story that one could imagine from Hollywood films such as The Day After Tomorrow. An unexplainable natural disaster occurs, the events are somehow related to a government-controlled scenario, and, of course, an important character can’t survive without their medicine (and yes, it gets lost and they go on a wild goose chase for it).
The film tries to deviate from this cliche narrative, albeit in an ambitious way, but it falls flat on its face. The Great Flood is successful in producing an unexpected plot twist that deviates from the beaten path by transporting us into space and becoming a sci-fi thriller no one saw coming. However, it lacked continuity and failed to connect viewers to the already imaginative story. What at first felt like a typical but well-made thriller became a sort of nonsensical Groundhog Day story filled with loose ends and what-ifs. The particular scene where An Na suddenly awakens on her bed to restart the tragedy brings a surge of excitement, but the feeling doesn’t last long as the story progresses.
As a whole, the musical score was well done. It intensified the story, engulfed us in the rush of emotions, and played along nicely with the drama of each scene. The CGI effects and settings were also quite believable. It was well-developed and really felt believable. From the flooded apartments to swimming in the gushing waters, the actors looked like they were constantly performing at Waterbomb!
>> Kim Da Mi Races to Save Her Son in Terrifying Intense Trailer for Netflix’s ‘The Great Flood’
Overall, The Great Flood isn’t a great watch. It is a story that hasn’t been done in a while, but doesn’t feel refreshing despite its creative narrative. There is nothing to really take away from it, and it felt more unbelievable than incredible. Viewers may be left feeling unsatisfied, but some may enjoy the sci-fi twist that casts aside conventional storytelling. It isn’t the worst movie of 2025, but The Great Flood is an acquired taste. (6/10)
