Overview
A gripping tale of survival against the odds unfolds as a rescue mission races against time.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- tense
- claustrophobic
- earnest
- serious movie night
- true story viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found Ron Howard’s respectful, technically accomplished dramatization gripping and emotionally effective despite following familiar true-story formulas and feeling somewhat incomplete.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film follows the practical organization and execution of the Tham Luang cave rescue, including divers, officials, families, and local communities.
British cave divers, an Australian doctor, Thai authorities, volunteers, and local residents contribute to the rescue effort.
The flooded cave system and technically demanding cave dives make darkness, narrow passages, and rising water central to the film’s tension.
The rescue depends on specialized diving knowledge, engineering decisions, weather calculations, and improvised solutions.
Films like Thirteen Lives, and why
The Finest Hours
shared true-events drama, rescue mission suspense, and grounded procedural tension
Everest
shared historical survival drama, escalating natural peril, and teamwork under extreme conditions
Only the Brave
shared fact-based rescue thriller, claustrophobic environments, and collective courage
Deepwater Horizon
shared real-world disaster drama, international ensemble, and procedural crisis management
Movie Details
- Director
- Ron Howard
- Release Date
- 2022-07-18
- Runtime
- 147 min
- Rating
- 7.8 / 10 (1585)
Cast
- Viggo Mortensen
- Colin Farrell
- Joel Edgerton
- Tom Bateman
- Paul Gleeson
- Teeradon Supapunpinyo
- Girati Sugiyama
- Pasakorn Hoyhon
- Tanatat Srita
- Kaokuson Sorapap
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Buy
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Thirteen Lives about?
- An international team of divers and rescuers confronts flooding, darkness, and impossible logistics to save a trapped youth soccer team in Thailand.
- What is Thirteen Lives like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Thirteen Lives as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Thirteen Lives violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Thirteen Lives.
- What did critics think of Thirteen Lives?
- Critics broadly found Ron Howard’s respectful, technically accomplished dramatization gripping and emotionally effective despite following familiar true-story formulas and feeling somewhat incomplete.
- Which films are like Thirteen Lives?
- Films with a similar feel include The Finest Hours, Everest, Only the Brave, and Deepwater Horizon.
- How long is Thirteen Lives?
- Thirteen Lives runs 147 minutes.
- Where can I watch Thirteen Lives?
- In United States, Thirteen Lives streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
