THE 33

It is so hard to make a compelling human-drama film out of any story when you know the ending going in.
The true-life story of the 33 Chilean miners who survived for months underground as superiors fought to rescue them and the world watched the efforts in real time is a gripping tale of fortitude, perseverance, religious faith and scientific ingenuity. The fact that no one trapped in the mine perished over the course of the 69-day ordeal is a legitimate miracle, and the details of the events should be shared with as many people as is physically possible.
However...
Trailer:

It can’t be overlooked that a motion picture based on the burial and subsequent rescue mission never fully works because 99% of the time, when you know a film’s resolution, the story’s unable to generate any dramatic tension or land with any emotional impact. While not quite going through the motions, The 33 dutifully recounts the events of the 2010 mine collapse as it follows the men into the dark, stays with them during their darkest hours, then accompanies them back out to safety. If you tracked the group’s progress on live television as it happened several years back, it will look very familiar. If you didn’t, you likely still know where the movie’s going, and how it intends on getting there.

No pun intended, but The 33 doesn’t dig nearly as deep as it should. Directed by Patricia Riggen and adapted from Hector Tobar’s book by three credited screenwriters, The 33 gives us snapshots of a handful of the miners before they venture into the danger zone. The men largely are characterized by bite-sized (and clichéd) defining traits, so we’ll easily recognize them in the dark and dirty mine. There’s the soon-to-be father; the homeless guy who’s arguing with his sister; the hen-pecked clown who has a mistress the whole town recognizes; and (my least favorite) the old man who’s about to retire. The overcooked script, which often gets in the way of the actual facts, shoehorns in lines like, “Two weeks, and you’re a free man!” Guess again, partner.

The 33 miners are 2,300 feet below the surface with tragedy strikes. Through no real fault of their own, the mountain into which the men are tunneling gives way, and Riggen relies on a mix of CGI dust and rock to recreate the natural disaster in a competent but short-of-thrilling sequence. The collapse is a necessary evil, the point we have to reach before the movie finally can begin. And it’s true, from this moment on, character development begins to drag The 33 toward the light. Strong personalities emerge, both in the mine and on the surface, as passionate performances by Antonio Banderas (as the miners’ unofficial spokesperson) and Rodrigo Santoro (as a structural engineer) start to cut through the melodrama to try and help The 33 stand out.

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