Thirteen Lives (2022) - Review

This is one of the first movies of the Oscar season, and I’m not going to lie, this completely falls flat for me. The production value is great throughout, the way they recreated the caves and ground zero of the operation was extremely authentic and well-produced. The actors inhabit their roles very well, match the essence of their real-life counter parts. But for the most part, this feels like a recap rather than a story. With the exception to the diving scenes themselves, I didn’t feel any of the impact or gravity of the situation, and they’re is absolutely zero emotion and characterization to get me invested on what and who I’m watching on screen. Me telling you “This is a story about cave drivers rescuing 13 children stuck in a flooded cave” has the same emotional impact as the film itself. The documentary has more impact and characterization. The documentary. While it’s extremely solid on a technical level, the storytelling, themes and impact of the film is similar to a textbook retelling.