Thirteen Lives (2022)

What's possibly most remarkable about this real life tale of courage and ingenuity is that a pretty A-list cast don't really overwhelm the story. Their contributions are solid and fairly undramatic as they allow the chronology to develop and the suspense and pressure to accumulate. It's history - so we know what happens, but somehow that lack of jeopardy doesn't really matter as we follow the efforts of an international team trying to rescue the twelve boys and their coach who have found themselves stuck underground, a few kilometres from the entrance, after heavy monsoon rains struck and flooded the tunnels. Now, of course, the first question might have been for the coach - didn't he look at the weather forecast first? However, now marooned quickly in their dark and claustrophobic environment, Ron Howard takes his time to demonstrate to us all just how this most innovative and challenging of evacuations was planned and executed - none of it without considerable risk to everyone involved. We are drawn into the scenarios, and I felt that I had skin in this game - the story has a palpable immersion (no pun intended) for the viewer. The cast gel well without any stand-out contributions or wordy dialogue, which I think well illustrates the strenuous pressures put on these men, essentially volunteers, by themselves, the families, the authorities and the relentless rain. The subterranean photography works really well in generating a feeling of peril and I certainly shared in that sense of relief at the end... A cinema watch is better, if you can - somehow the big screen demonstrates the small, tight spaces, better!

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"Thirteen Lives follows the usual formulas of works based on true events, but Ron Howard's honest, non-Hollywoodized direction allows him to efficiently tell one of the most remarkable survival stories of the last decade.
The entire cast is extraordinary, but it's Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell who mainly guide the film through all the relevant, claustrophobic plot points in a somewhat heavy viewing runtime-wise. Interesting for viewers with little to no knowledge of what happened, but the question remains as to whether it adds anything truly significant to the documentary The Rescue about the same 18 days of suffering, anxiety, and uncertainty.
Massive praise for the worthy amount of screentime of the Thai language."
Rating: B-