Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortensen star in the thriller film that is based on a true story.

The film recounts the true story of the Thai junior football team that became trapped in the Tham Luang cave network during an unexpected rainstorm and the tremendous global effort to rescue the 12 boys and their coach.

Farrell, Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams) and Viggo Mortensen (A History of Violence) play the real-life rescue divers John Volanthen, Richard Harris and Richard Stanton.

The plot synopsis for Thirteen Lives reads: "Based on the true nail-biting mission that captivated the world, 12 boys and the coach of a Thai soccer team explore the Tham Luang cave when an unexpected rainstorm traps them in a chamber inside the mountain.

"Entombed behind a maze of flooded cave tunnels, they face impossible odds.

"A team of world-class divers navigate through miles of dangerous cave networks to discover that finding the boys is only the beginning."

Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton in Thirteen Lives

Directed by Ron Howard (Apollo 13, Backdraft), Thirteen Lives was beloved by audiences and critics upon its release.

In particular, its grounded and procedural approach to the real-life events, its tense set-pieces and its hopeful story were singled out for praise.

Holding an 85% critics' score and a 93% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, Thirteen Lives is airing on TV tonight on RTÉ2 at 9pm.

The movie is also available to stream on Prime Video.

Here are the other movies airing on TV tonight:

Murder on the Orient Express - Channel 4 - 8pm

Kenneth Branagh is the gentleman sleuth Hercule Poirot in this Agatha Christie adaptation that launched a trilogy.

The Rock - Comedy Central - 9pm

In this deliriously fun action flick, a former SAS captain (Sean Connery) and an FBI chemist (Nicolas Cage) team up to stop a rogue general (Ed Harris) from launching chemical weapons on Alcatraz Island into San Francisco.

Jack Reacher - ITV4 - 9pm

Tom Cruise is a former soldier turned drifter who becomes entangled in a conspiracy in this hugely watchable first screen outing of author Lee Child’s most famous creation.

Deadpool 2 - Film4 - 9pm

Ryan Reynolds' "merc with a mouth" returns in this superhero sequel.

King Arthur - Legend - 9pm

The 2004 version of the King Arthur tale, with Clive Owen as the titular folk hero.

Papillon - Legend Xtra - 9pm

Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek headline this remake of the classic '70s prison film that starred Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.

Timecop - Sky Max - 9pm

One of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s better movies.

The Last Rifleman - RTÉ One - 9.30pm

Pierce Brosnan stars in this 2023 drama as a Northern Irish WWII veteran who, on the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, decides to secretly escape his care home and travel to France so that he can pay his final respects to his best friend.

The Godfather Part II - BBC Two - 10pm

Probably the best sequel ever made.

Final Destination 2 - MTV - 10pm

The hit horror sequel, which we’ve argued in the past has the “greatest car crash scene in cinema history”.

Gangs of New York - Channel 4 - 10.15pm

The Martin Scorsese-directed historical crime epic that we recommended recently.

My Best Friend's Wedding - TG4 - 10.15pm

In this classic rom-com, Julia Roberts plays Julianne, a woman who discovers that her longtime friend (Dermot Mulroney), who she is in love with, is to marry his girlfriend (Cameron Diaz).

As such, Julianne sets out to prevent the two from getting married, with only days before the wedding.

Snowpiercer - ITV4 - 11.35pm

This excellent sci-fi is set during a new ice age on Earth, where the last remnants of humanity shelter in a state-of-the-art self-sustaining circumnavigational train called the Snowpiercer.

The wealthy live in luxury at the top of the train, while the poor live in squalor in its bottom carriages. That is, however, until one passenger (Chris Evans) leads a revolt.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout - Film4 - 11.20pm

Tom Cruise headlines this action spy sequel that we previously called one of the best action movies of the 21st century.

Shakespeare in Love - BBC Four - 11.30pm

The Oscar Best Picture-winning period romantic comedy about a love affair between playwright William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) during the writing of Romeo and Juliet.

See No Evil, Hear No Evil - Comedy Central - 11.45pm

Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor star in this cult comedy.

Turn your home into a cinema with this projector 

Do you love movies? Have you ever dreamt of turning your home into your own cinema?

If so, then you may be interested in a home theatre projector we spotted on sale on Amazon with “impressive quality”.

The 4K projector has the likes of YouTube, Netflix and Prime Video built in, so you can access thousands of films and shows without an additional TV stick, and you can also connect it to Bluetooth on your phone and laptop.

It’s currently priced at €53.52 in a limited-time deal on the Amazon website.

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