Director: Ron Howard

Cast: Colin Farrell, Viggo Mortenson, Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman

Language: English

The 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue mission in Thailand was witnessed by the world with bated breaths. The mission that saw the participation of over 10,000 people from around the world, international cave divers, and volunteers, was necessitated when a junior football team and their coach got trapped in a cave in the area for a period of 18 days. The 12 boys and the coach were trapped without food in the cave for over 2 weeks before the government could initiate a relatively safe rescue operation.

Thirteen Lives is the re-telling of this unbelievable event, where international divers found the boys and the young coach alive and well after days of being trapped in a flooded cave. Richard Stanton (played by Viggo Motenson) and John Volanthen (Colin Farrell) are being invited by the Thai government as expert cave divers to assist in the rescue mission. As they invite more colleagues and embark on a mission that is terrifying and daring, they come across many challenges before safely bringing the boys back home.

Thirteen Lives is a realistic and gripping retelling of the stream of events that led to the rescue mission. Ron Howard’s direction brings us up close and personal to the nuances of a rescue mission and the precise planning involved in the process. The politics behind it all is also very well captured and despite knowing the happy ending of this story beforehand, we still are at the edge of our seats as the film nears its climax.

Ron Howard does what he does best – take intense films with a strong plot. Be it casting apt actors to the roles of the Thai students and rescuers, or giving us a whole-rounded view of the mission, Howard delivers yet another impressive film. Screenplay by William Nicholson captures the soul of the movie well and is not over-the-top.

Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortenson do justice to their roles as internationally acclaimed cave divers. As they attempt to set aside expectations, there are moments that overwhelm even them which comes out well on the screen. Kudos to all the Thai child actors who pull off such challenging roles with ease.

Thirteen Lives, if not an exact re-telling, is still a realistic and edgy thriller that makes us feel hopeful for mankind.

The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Rating: 3.5/5