Thirteen Lives (2022) Review

The rescue mission in Thailand for the groups of young boys and their soccer coach who were trapped inside of a cave that had then begun to flood when monsoon season hit earlier than normal.

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In 2018 the story of the Thai football team and their coach who began trapped inside a cave was broadcast across the world as everyone would be engrossed in the tragic situation wondering if it was actually possible for them to still be alive, let alone rescued. The mission to find them would bring together people from all around the world, as they attempted to actually bring in experienced cave divers to get into depths of the cave that no one else could manage.

Ron Howard took on the task of creating this story into a feature film and does he completely nail it, ensuring that it hits all of the right levels. It was never going to be easy to recreate the mission to save the boys and the scenes of the underwater diving are absolutely fantastic. Have to admit that it is one of those films where you truly struggle to breath within those scenes.

Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, two British men who just happened to have an extreme hobby of cave diving were contacted very early on in getting themselves to Thailand to help in the search. It was never going to be easy, especially when they weren’t fully trusted. We quickly learn though that even marines who are good divers would struggle within the cave set up without any prior experience.

The way it captures each day going through and how dangerous it will get given monsoon season has come early, the way that the communities around the cave had to come together in order to give the boys a chance, farmers allowing water to destroy all of their crops and generally people just working together. It captured the way that human nature when a tragedy is occurring that people will actually do more for one another. An aspect that I found really tough was that the parents of the boys did not really seem to be kept up to date very well especially as they began bringing the boys out.

The only way to actually then bring them out as they would not be able to complete the dive with no experience, especially given that some of the boys could not swim was to be sedated throughout the journey. Considering experienced divers found it difficult really highlighted just how big the task was for those involved. Despite knowing the outcome of the rescue I still found myself getting extremely anxious and concerned throughout the film, for everyone involved in the rescue as well as the boys and coach. I think that is certainly something that has to credit the filmmakers for being able to create those levels within scenes.

Casting wise I thought was just truly perfect, Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell worked very well with each other in the more leading roles as the two men who really were seen as heroes when they were the first divers to make it far into the cave and found that they were all still alive. Mortensen really can turn his hand to any role, in any accent that is for sure and it is easy to see why I have been a fan of his for so many years now. I am also a big Farrell fan and I am actually reaching the point where I feel as though he is actually under appreciated at times given his vast range. It was really interesting to read that they both wanted to do the actual diving for the scenes, so that it was easier in terms of filming. With Farrell admitting that he was very panicked when in the small areas, surely that would have made some of the scenes even more authentic? The work from the full cast and crew has to be seen as very inspiring as well!

Available to watch now on Amazon Prime Video.