Thai Cave Rescue Season 1

6/10 Following 2021’s incredible documentary “The Rescue” (9/10) and this year’s Hollywood film from Ron Howard “Thirteen Lives” (7.5/10) comes this six episode, limited series on Netflix, “Thai Cave Rescue”. I was initially horrified when I found out about this series solely because it had the name Jon M. Chu attached to it. Chu is one of the worst directors working in Hollywood today and it is baffling that studios still let this man direct for them. Thankfully, he only executive produces here, which is pretty hands off, ensuring that this series actually has some talent behind the scenes and in front of the camera. From showrunners Michael Russell Gunn and Dana Ledoux Miller, this series separates itself from the two aforementioned films, for better and for worse. As for what makes this different, besides having over five hours to tell the story of the 2018 rescue that captured the world’s attention, this series feels more authentic in the sense that the majority of the language is Thai, with some English sprinkled in. The showrunners worked with the real life survivors and heroes, receiving input and taking notes. One mild complaint I had about both “The Rescue” and “Thirteen Lives” was the fact that we didn’t get much character development on the 12 young boys and the coach of The Wild Boars. I understand that both films had time restraints but the best part about this series is that between the boys, the rescuers, the engineers, the divers, the military, the foreign assistance, Thai officials, parents of the boys, weather/water experts, etc. we actually get time to develop so many of these people. An entire limited series opens up the opportunity to take quiet moments away from the cave to see some backstory as well as getting to know The Wild Boars themselves even better. We get more emotional moments, inner conflicts and arguments between all of these characters which was easily the highlight of the series. The acting is strong and the pacing works well as most episodes fall around the 50 minute mark. As for what didn’t work, the biggest problem with the series is that the writers made things up to add in drama, which was completely unnecessary. As opposed to “The Rescue” and “Thirteen Lives” being extremely accurate, this series is more “inspired by a true story” than a literal re-telling of one. What “The Rescue” and “Thirteen Lives” proved without a doubt was the fact that this story is thrilling and fascinating enough on its own so there is no need to add manufactured drama to up the ante. Yet this series changes certain facts, adds in additional drama and slightly twists the truth around. While nothing added was so egregious as changing who lived and who died for example, there really needed to be no changes made at all since the truth is already exciting enough as it is. While this is overall fine and if you were as obsessed with this story as it unfolded as I was, then there is nothing wrong with checking this out. However, “The Rescue” and “Thirteen Lives” were able to stick closer to the truth and be all around better adaptations of this story in far less time. You won’t kick yourself should you choose to check this out but I strongly recommend “The Rescue” and “Thirteen Lives” over this series.
   
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