Rating: ★★★★★ (5.0/5)
There are a lot of movies based on true events out there. Some of them are factual, some of them are basically complete fabrications, and some of them are entertaining. This one manages to be both factual, engaging, and incredibly entertaining. How could you really expect anything less when we’re talking about the GOAT true events director, Ron Howard. This is the guy that made Apollo 13, for crying out loud. I love this movie. It’s perfection.
I can’t put my finger on what makes this movie so interesting to watch. It doesn’t lean into chaos. It doesn’t sit with desperate people making you be desperate with them. It doesn’t make any single person in the event look like the hero. It just shows what happened. It doesn’t play in the controversy even though you know there is controversy going on. Everything takes a backseat to the actual rescue effort. You get some incredible performances from the actors playing these real life people. They behave like people trying to figure out an impossible situation would behave and I adore that approach.
The event itself is crazy enough without having to add any additional drama or chaos to the story. I think that’s what I love about it so much. I’m glued to my seat, even though everyone on the screen is calm.
I couldn’t say enough for the cast of this movie either. The Thai cast is incredible and so convincing in their portrayals as both the desperate parents and the scared kids. The Navy SEAL team is incredible as well. The real show stoppers for me are Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortenson. My goodness, they are both so incredible in their respective roles. Viggo’s stoicism in the face of this impossible situation stands out so much. He wants to save these kids but he’s also a realist and knows the likelihood of success is so low. He detaches himself from the scene as a protection mechanism. Him playing opposite Colin Farrell’s character who is much more emotionally invested is such an incredible dynamic. It’s amazing to watch.
There’s one exchange where Colin says, “I just can’t imagine what it’s like for them in there,” or something along those line. Viggo’s response is, “why would you say something like that?” He doesn’t want to let the situation in because he knows he has a job to do and he’s going to do it. He knows he can’t do that job if he thinks of these kids any more than some packages he needs to get out of the cave.
I sat down to write a quick review and I ended up with a lot more becuase the whole thing just fascinates me. I could watch this movie over and still be amazed at all the effort that went into saving 13 kids who made a simple mistake. This whole thing was a miracle and I’m so grateful that this story ended the way it did.