I was intrigued by the idea that Disney+, Amazon Prime, and Netflix all released films/series about the same story within a year of each other and decided I wanted to watch them all to compare.
Disney+ has National Geographic's documentary The Rescue, which is by far the best of the three. Next up is Amazon's Thirteen Lives, which is a dramatization of the event that was directed by Rob Howard and stars Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell. That would be second best on my list, with the Netflix series coming in last.
So, what's wrong with the series? Well for one, it's wildly inaccurate, and I honestly don't understand the point. They skipped dramatic things that happened in real life in favor of made-up drama, which I find confusing. I also think some of the dialogue is a little odd- especially when you have young kids making wise and serious observations about life and death shortly after they were fooling around with one another. It felt very out of place and forced, as though the viewer is meant to assume that these little kids are all suddenly wise beyond their years.
That being said, this series is still entertaining to watch and definitely has value. I like that it's centered on the experience of the players, their families, and other members of the local community, unlike the other versions which are primarily focused on the English and Australian rescue divers. The fact that it was filmed in Thai and English also adds to the realism and allows the viewer to understand some of the challenges that an international team would have faced in overcoming language barriers.
It's worth watching for the stellar performance of Beam Papangkorn as Coach Eak alone. I was very sorry to discover that he died prior to the release of this series, as he was very talented and I'm sure would have been in high demand following this performance. It was nice to have more women in this version too, though I'm not sure that all of the made up characters they added were necessary.
All in all, if you're looking for something to watch and aren't that worried about accuracy, it's worth a try. However, if you have Disney+ or Amazon, definitely make the time to watch The Rescue or Thirteen Lives also.
Disney+ has National Geographic's documentary The Rescue, which is by far the best of the three. Next up is Amazon's Thirteen Lives, which is a dramatization of the event that was directed by Rob Howard and stars Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell. That would be second best on my list, with the Netflix series coming in last.
So, what's wrong with the series? Well for one, it's wildly inaccurate, and I honestly don't understand the point. They skipped dramatic things that happened in real life in favor of made-up drama, which I find confusing. I also think some of the dialogue is a little odd- especially when you have young kids making wise and serious observations about life and death shortly after they were fooling around with one another. It felt very out of place and forced, as though the viewer is meant to assume that these little kids are all suddenly wise beyond their years.
That being said, this series is still entertaining to watch and definitely has value. I like that it's centered on the experience of the players, their families, and other members of the local community, unlike the other versions which are primarily focused on the English and Australian rescue divers. The fact that it was filmed in Thai and English also adds to the realism and allows the viewer to understand some of the challenges that an international team would have faced in overcoming language barriers.
It's worth watching for the stellar performance of Beam Papangkorn as Coach Eak alone. I was very sorry to discover that he died prior to the release of this series, as he was very talented and I'm sure would have been in high demand following this performance. It was nice to have more women in this version too, though I'm not sure that all of the made up characters they added were necessary.
All in all, if you're looking for something to watch and aren't that worried about accuracy, it's worth a try. However, if you have Disney+ or Amazon, definitely make the time to watch The Rescue or Thirteen Lives also.