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THIRTEEN LIVES

I absolutely loved this film by Ron Howard! Thirteen Lives is based on the true story of thirteen people who got stuck in a flooded cave in Thailand in the summer of 2018. The storyline is action-packed and extremely suspenseful. It felt like my heart was racing a million miles a minute while I watched it.

Thirteen Lives takes us on the journey of twelve boys and their soccer coach getting stuck in the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand. The boys wanted to visit the cave; however, little did they know that there was an approaching monsoon that would soon after flood the entire cave. People from all over the world were watching their rescue attempt with the many challenging obstacles they had to overcome. Will someone find them inside the cave? If they do, will the boys get out of the cave in time before they starve, or run out of oxygen?

The acting in this film is phenomenal. The portrayal of these young boys, their coach and their rescuers is so believable that you feel like you are there along with them. The cast includes Colin Farrell as John Volanthen, Viggo Mortensen as Richard Stanton, Joel Edgerton as Richard Harris and Tom Bateman as Chris Jewell. The production team, led by director Ron Howard also delivered. The way the film is made makes you feel like you're actually in the cave with the rescue workers. It took a lot of effort and coordination, which is very impressive. Over 5,000 people, including cave divers, doctors, rescuers, Navy SEALS, farmers and others contributed to helping the boys. They put their own lives at risk to help the boys and their coach, whom they didn't even know! Without those people playing a part in this rescue who knows if they would have saved them. My favorite part is when the farmers give up their crops so water can flood them and divert the water from going into the cave. It took a lot of heroism and sacrifice to lose their entire crop in order to give the boys a better chance of surviving.

The message of this film is that working together is essential. You should be aware that there is a lot of blood in some scenes and there is some bad language used a couple of times.

I give Thirteen Lives 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. This film releases in select theaters on July 29, 2022, and starts streaming on Prime Video August 5, 2022.

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Thirteen Lives recounts the incredible true story of the tremendous global effort to rescue a Thai soccer team who become trapped in the Tham Luang cave during an unexpected rainstorm. Faced with insurmountable odds, a team of the world's most skilled and experienced divers - uniquely able to navigate the maze of flooded, narrow cave tunnels - join with Thai forces and more than 10,000 volunteers to attempt a harrowing rescue of the twelve boys and their coach. With impossibly high stakes and the entire world watching, the group embarks on their most challenging dive yet, showcasing the limitlessness of the human spirit in the process.