Thirteen Lives Review: Thai Cave Rescue Gets Detailed & Gripping Retelling
Few inspirational genuine stories can possibly compare to the tale of the 12 boys and one man who were saved from a flooded cave. The infamous Tham Luang rescue's amazing nature enthralled people all around the world, and now director Ron Howard has provided his interpretation of it with Thirteen Lives. Howard is one of the directors best prepared to tell this narrative because he was the one who brought the suspenseful Apollo 13 to life, and he does so with competence and care. Thirteen Lives is an emotional examination of one of the most extraordinary events of the previous ten years, even though some aspects appear undercooked.
The news that a Thai soccer team made up of twelve boys between the ages of 11 and 16 and their coach had been trapped inside the Tham Luang Nang Non cave by rising water levels when monsoon season arrived early in 2018 shocked the world. The tragic tale of how help arrived from all around the world is told in Thirteen Lives. Everyone from Thai Navy SEALs to english rescue divers—most notably Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell—got engaged. Hope for a rescue waned as the days passed. But as everybody who has followed the news narrative is aware, this is a situation that is much more serious than anyone could have imagined.
Thirteen Lives certainly does a fantastic job of illustrating just how long this rescue operation took, clocking in at a prolonged two and a half hours. One could argue that Thirteen Lives' extensive running time really illustrates how difficult the actual Tham Luang cave rescue was, which took more than two weeks to complete and involved countless hours-long dives. Undoubtedly, the majority of what takes place on screen is captivating, which contributes to the length of the film. The dives themselves were recreated by Howard using unnervingly realistic cave sets developed by production designer Molly Hughes and outstanding underwater camerawork from DP Simon Christidis.
Thirteen Lives is a clear portrayal of a remarkable actual story under Howard's competent direction. Although it may have benefited from a fuller exploration of what transpired outside of the rescue mission, it does credit to those involved and still has the ability to stir the heart. This will be an interesting viewing for anyone who are unaware of the specifics of how the boys and their coach were successfully taken from Tham Luang, and even viewers who closely followed the news coverage might discover some surprises within the overall events. All things considered, Thirteen Lives is a great and interesting film that showcases people's tenacious spirits.