Fish and Cherries Productions

The 33 was a decent movie, I suppose, but I couldn’t help feel that something was missing. For the life of me, I can’t tell what, though some of it might have to do with the fact that the drama seems a little manufactured, something the credits even admit. I thought the big source of drama was that all of these people were trapped underground and trying their best to survive. Was that not enough for people? Instead, we get some very weak marital conflict that seems to resolve and unresolved itself, regardless of how the main plot is progressing.

Then again, perhaps the subplots, however weak, were an attempt to provide anticipation for the audience since we all know how this story ends. It’s a true story that happened fairly recently, so it’s fresh in our minds. Kinda hard to feel the drama if we all know what happens. Even so, I feel the attempt was very weak and discords get resolved almost too quickly in some cases. And apart from one guy, everyone is shown having a super ideal life before being trapped underground. There’s no serious strain on their lives that would add true drama, like a couple having the last things they said before the accident be hurtful and the regret that would follow. With all that said, there were some good moments and I really started feeling happy for them toward the end. Until I learned that none of them got compensated from their near-death experience and the mining company wasn’t found guilty of negligence, which was news that the film decided to play happy and upbeat music over. Again, I don’t think the movie’s bad, but I think it’s more of a rental than a theater experience.