Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Based on the true story of the collapse of a mine in San Jose, Chile—that left 33 miners isolated underground for 69 days.
The 33 follows a fairly conventional disaster-drama template despite its remarkable real-world source material. The true story is inherently compelling but the screenplay flattens characters into archetypes and the narrative beats feel predictable. The ensemble cast, including Antonio Banderas and Juliette Binoche, delivers solid if unspectacular work. Cinematography captures the claustrophobic underground setting with some effectiveness but nothing visually distinctive. The film adds little novelty to the survival genre, feeling formulaic in its execution. The ending, while emotionally rousing due to the genuine historical outcome, lacks the dramatic tension it could have achieved with bolder filmmaking choices.