THE GREAT FLOOD (대홍수) (NETFLIX) (2025)

SYNOPSIS: When a raging flood traps a researcher and her young son, a call to a crucial mission puts their escape — and the future of humanity — on the line.

MOVIE REVIEW:

The Great Flood starts out like any other disaster movie. A scientist, An-na (Kim Da-mi), and her son, Ja-in (Kwon Eun-seong), are trapped in a high-rise building after an asteroid hits Antarctica, causing water levels to rise drastically. A security personnel, Hee-jo (Park Hae-soo), sent by her company, arrives to escort An-na to the rooftop to await a helicopter rescue.

As it turns out, this is no ordinary rescue mission, and The Great Flood is not just another disaster movie by any means.

It’s clear that director and writer Kim Byung-woo (Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy) is not satisfied with delivering a visual-effects-heavy sci-fi spectacle. The Great Flood feels like a culmination of Groundhog Day, Edge of Tomorrow, and Source Code, with an AI-driven theme thrown into the mix.

Some viewers may feel confused or even lost after the exhilarating opening, because survival is not the central focus here. This isn’t about climbing to higher ground, escaping a tsunami, or avoiding looters. Instead, it’s about the future of mankind and a desperate attempt to understand human emotions if that makes any sense.

Whereas Korean disaster films such as Haeundae, Ashfall, and Concrete Utopia are brilliantly staged and more straightforward in their storytelling, The Great Flood can feel complex and even laborious. Avoiding spoilers as much as possible, it’s enough to say that The Great Flood involves not only human melodrama, but also time loops and sophisticated AI simulations.

For a Netflix original, the CGI is impressive. The production design and sense of scale despite being largely confined to a single apartment block are effective and believable. Kim Da-mi is fully committed, as we watch her navigate underwater obstacles and repeatedly make her way up and down staircases.

Unfortunately, this South Korean sci-fi apocalyptic film won’t be remembered as a notable disaster movie (because it isn’t), nor as a particularly engaging sci-fi thriller. The concept, while ambitious, is weighed down by heavy-handed execution. It certainly presents intriguing ideas, but the final payoff is far less satisfying than what the premise initially promises.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee