As a reporter who covered the real cave incident last year (2018), I feel ambivalent about this movie. I cannot enjoy it totally because the actual incident was about life and death and time that was running out fast. But I also worked in a lifestyle and entertainment editorial section and I appreciate the fact that The Cave is a movie, not a documentary, so we still need to separate fact from fiction. What I want to say is that it's a very all right movie if you are not very serious about accuracy. The movie needed heroes and villains for the script to work, but the reality that I covered has every single person as the hero and there is no villain, only conflicts stemming from good intentions.
29 Reviews
Almost perfect
hitzujaa28 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Good pictures, good story telling, good camera angles, good documentary and good acting.
The film shows that the Thai government required a lot of ... no ... too many and unnecessary documents, cards and so on to allow the other people help solving the situation. I'm Thai and that's a big real shame. The actor who played as the Thai PM have some talents, he acted absolutely stupid by speaking gibberish. I were expecting to see Elon's tiny submarine. What a disappointing.
I liked it.
sheepshearer2 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I didn't follow the news of this when it happened so do not really know how accurate it is. But as a movie it was enjoyable.
I used to cave dive and could not fault the technical stuff. It was a bit of a shock that they drugged the children to get them out.
I used to cave dive and could not fault the technical stuff. It was a bit of a shock that they drugged the children to get them out.
Got me in tears
Gordon-114 April 2020
The first half of the film didn't really connect with me. I thought it was not gripping enough to be a film, and not informative enough to be a documentary. The second half managed to turn the tide, and of course the ending got me in tears. I applaud everyone involved in the rescue. I was also impressed that so many people played themselves in the film. Wow. I would have liked to see more on how the boys stayed alive in the cave, but I guess there was not enough time to tell so much story.
Put it into prospective
allygalli14 September 2022
This film is not perfect. It's not as cinematic as the Ron Howard movie, it's somewhat 'slow' for our standards, but I still think it's worth watching and I enjoyed it.
It's like a crossover between documentary and fiction. This film focuses mainly on the efforts that surrounded the four lead British divers rather than that group itself. A lot of room is given to the Thai people, to the support divers, to the logistics.
The story is definitely not told with an epic tone, but has a rather realistic hue to it. If you're interested in the story, and you've already seen The Rescue and Thirteen Lives, I think this is a nice addiction. It gives you bits and pieces of extra information. It works better after watching those two, rather than as stand alone film.
It's like a crossover between documentary and fiction. This film focuses mainly on the efforts that surrounded the four lead British divers rather than that group itself. A lot of room is given to the Thai people, to the support divers, to the logistics.
The story is definitely not told with an epic tone, but has a rather realistic hue to it. If you're interested in the story, and you've already seen The Rescue and Thirteen Lives, I think this is a nice addiction. It gives you bits and pieces of extra information. It works better after watching those two, rather than as stand alone film.
See the news again
dzeilstra2 December 2019
Twelve young boys and their coach being trapped in a cave - it was world news for about 3 weeks. When the movie comes you expect to get something more out of it than an overview of the news headlines and a presentation of facts you already know. I would have expect some more insight of what the impact was on the team, but the boys themselves get no more than 10 minutes or so screening time. What is it like to find out that you are trapped in a cave. How do you deal with the darkness, dampness, lack of food, fresh water and sanitary facilities? How do you cope with being cut off from the outside world not knowing what efforts are being made there and how long it will take before someone finds you? This film makes you none the wiser. Instead the focus is on some guy arranging pumps, and else I could hardly make out a story line. On top of this the cinematography is exhausting. Hand held camera most of the time in very close up producing images on the big screen that are constantly moving are no pleasure to watch.
This film adds nothing to anything and is a waste of time. My four stars are on the generous side.
Awful film of an amazing story
londonviewer12 October 2019
We need to separate out the amazing story that was the rescue of the football team, from this awful movie.
There are many lessons to be learned from this dreadful project - first to market is not always a good thing. Getting real life participants to recreate their parts often doesn't work - and ends up in repeated scenes where they just grunt. Employing low cost actors (perhaps to make them look like real people) doesn't work well either. Focussing on little bits of story that haven't had much coverage (water pumps man) just gets tedious. Repeated scenes of people cheering and congratulating each other gets really tedious. Repeated shots of murky diving gets exceedingly tedious.
Wait for a better movie version of this story, save your time and money, and avoid this film.
There are many lessons to be learned from this dreadful project - first to market is not always a good thing. Getting real life participants to recreate their parts often doesn't work - and ends up in repeated scenes where they just grunt. Employing low cost actors (perhaps to make them look like real people) doesn't work well either. Focussing on little bits of story that haven't had much coverage (water pumps man) just gets tedious. Repeated scenes of people cheering and congratulating each other gets really tedious. Repeated shots of murky diving gets exceedingly tedious.
Wait for a better movie version of this story, save your time and money, and avoid this film.
Disappointed with the movie
faithwithyou3 December 2019
Many Thais rejected this movie after discovering the producer and director change the actual story. Most of the decision making on rescuing the kids in the cave were made by Thai authorities, but the movie shows that foreigners decide the rescue.
Many local people watch movie in the the cinema and just walk out from the theatre after 20 - 30 mins and unhappy with the scene.
Many local people watch movie in the the cinema and just walk out from the theatre after 20 - 30 mins and unhappy with the scene.
Putting the case into a movie
madbird-6124321 May 2021
I am gracious of the director putting the case into the movie. I know it from news, but never know the details. It is like seeing a very long news report. Since the incident is happened not for long, I am very interested to see the details.
The movie is full of negative comments. Yes, all the comments are true. But i like to point out is that timing is very important. If a very good movie is put on the screen ten years later I would lose my interest no matter what.
For the present movie I am simply urged to finish it, despite its technical drawbacks. And it is so happy to know some actors is the actual person in the incident.
In all, the movie is ok to me, and I hope more of this movie, like one on COVID 19, could be put on big screen timely.
The movie is full of negative comments. Yes, all the comments are true. But i like to point out is that timing is very important. If a very good movie is put on the screen ten years later I would lose my interest no matter what.
For the present movie I am simply urged to finish it, despite its technical drawbacks. And it is so happy to know some actors is the actual person in the incident.
In all, the movie is ok to me, and I hope more of this movie, like one on COVID 19, could be put on big screen timely.
A great story but a disappointing film
impeyrules-5463412 January 2020
While the real life story of the Thai boys football teams rescue was wonderful, this film was an extremely poor production. The real people playing themselves is comical at times, through no real fault of their own. Afterall they arent actors. Its very poorly laid out and extremely slow.
Just plain terrible!
rotweiler7 February 2020
Someone recently said this was an awful firm about a really heartwarming story. Unfortunately, this firm goes even further that that - it is worse than awful. Avoid this like the plague it is. If you really want to see the story, check out the Discovery Channel short about it - MUCH better.
This film needed rescuing
jamesbreaksy16 February 2020
Saw this at Bangkok Screening Room, February 2020.
It was really not so good. Uneven pacing, poor cinematography (especially in the cave), zero character development resulting in no emotional investment from the viewer. The boys and the coach are one-dimensional stick figures with practically no dialogue.
The cast was a mix of professional actors and actual people who were on the scene of the event playing themselves, which sounds all right in theory but resulted in some laughably bad acting. Real actors should have been used for the entire film.
The film was produced in a short time frame immediately after the events actually took place, which might explain some of the bad choices made during production and make them almost forgivable, and the set design and production looked realistic enough-I think it was filmed on-site-so I give the film 3 stars for effort.
But don't waste your time. Just watch some clips of the real thing from YouTube.
It was really not so good. Uneven pacing, poor cinematography (especially in the cave), zero character development resulting in no emotional investment from the viewer. The boys and the coach are one-dimensional stick figures with practically no dialogue.
The cast was a mix of professional actors and actual people who were on the scene of the event playing themselves, which sounds all right in theory but resulted in some laughably bad acting. Real actors should have been used for the entire film.
The film was produced in a short time frame immediately after the events actually took place, which might explain some of the bad choices made during production and make them almost forgivable, and the set design and production looked realistic enough-I think it was filmed on-site-so I give the film 3 stars for effort.
But don't waste your time. Just watch some clips of the real thing from YouTube.
Can calls this a movie?
somcat31 March 2020
Real people and a real story
helenbancroftmorris13 October 2019
I saw this film at the London Film Festival. It depicts the events of an unprecedented emergency on a worldwide scale. A rare piece of history retold by some of the only people that really know. The people that fully experienced the event. A rare and privileged opportunity is given to the viewer by the sharing of this perspective.
Better watch the real video of the real rescue on line than watching this movie.
Neptune16521 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The worst movie ever!!!! I saw so many documentaries about this rescue and they were fantastic and yet this movie failed terribly. Why focus the movie on Jim Varny when he only played a supporting role during the rescue!!!!! Terrible movie!!!! No mention of Richard Harris, Craig Challen, Ric Stanton and John Volanthen, Jason Mallinson and Chris Jewell!!!!????? They were the British and Australian cave divers who played the major roles in the rescue of these boys. The director tired to cover with dramatic music and cinematography. While the on set scenes were realistic. The script was rather weak. Felt like there were some deleted scenes. Doesn't connect smoothly. It's more like a documentary than a movie. The director used hand-held method to film this movie, and I felt dizzy just after 5 minutes of watching.
WTF!
jcbigelow-6084531 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Well... this was an interesting interpretation of events. I know the film states "based on true events" but that barely covers it. It is the equivalent of making a film about the assassination of Osama Bin Laden from the point of view of the helicopter pilot who flew the Seal Team in to do the job. Yes, he was there. Yes, he was involved, but it is such a narrow view of events as to almost be an obfuscation of the real story. There is virtually no mention of the actions of Richard Harris, the diver instrumental in the rescue as he was in charge of the managing the anesthesia of the boys trapped in the cave. Furthermore, in the few seconds where he was mentioned, the director made it appear as if he was there as a side note and not even a diver. The movie also completely glosses over the efforts of all the other divers involved and plays like the Jim Varney show. It is an incredibly now, biased and disappointing representation of what is possibly one of the greatest rescues of all time. Don't waste your time.
Amateurish
CosyCatNap29 July 2022
What a bad movie. Very amateurish, with generic dialogue and music. The drama is non-existent so the whole thing is flat and boring. The boys are hardly shown in the cave and don't even seem that bothered by their ordeal, so that as a viewer I didn't care much about them. After three days inside they are just a bit thirsty. Okay.
A great story but a terrible film adaptation.
wingloo-1464725 January 2021
A beautiful film
carlonatalevenezia26 May 2020
Local authorities did not like this film because the author wanted to tell the truth about some facts that actually happened. To do this, the director even used the same people as witnesses to the facts that actually happened. Nonetheless, the director was accused of telling the fake, obviously by the culprits.
I hope this film will serve as an example for other Thai directors in the future. Freedom in the creative process must not be tied in any way, especially in a historical moment like this where there are people who are paying only for having said the pure truth.
Average film of an amazing story
vimukthi-dnc5 April 2020
A poor film of a fantastic drama
bsconsulting29 September 2022
Unfortunately this film feels like it was put together from all the outtakes of the other films made about this amazing rescue effort. I though that the Ron Howard film Thirteen Lives managed to capture the real drama in the rescue and is far the best of the bunch of films that have been made. The Netflix drama series Thai Cave Resue was overlong and didn't really add much to the storey though did focus more on the boys themselves. The documentary The Rescue was Ok but not a drama. I understand that this film has been re-edited for another release with a revised title - Cave Rescue. That might improve it but not certain it can rescue it!!
Ultimately, the film's pacing and style let it down.
punch8729 September 2020
Amazing
info-0354514 October 2019
Effective and heartwarming telling of a story with a lot of heroes
sharperpencil11 December 2020
This film focuses on the rescuers, in particular one of the International divers, an Irishman. But it also makes time for the local heroes of this story - the farmers whose livelihoods were threatened by the rescue efforts, the people providing food for the rescuers and, in a near film-stealing turn, a local drainage expert.
Using the real people rather than actors in some instances does mean their performances seem a little stilted, but the trade-off is that as you warm to them you know you're warming to the real people (and you really do warm to them). The film also does a very effective job of conveying the chaos as multiple agencies, nationalities, languages and skill-sets try to coordinate a massive operation under incredible time pressure, as the waters are predicted to rise still further and make any rescue impossible. It's a real feat to convey all the logistics of the events while still foregrounding the human element. By the end if you're not wiping away a tear then there's something wrong with you.
Worth the wait
dugmoore111 December 2020
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