‘It’s a shame what they did’: Viggo Mortensen attacks Amazon for releasing this film Rated 4.1 out of 5 on streaming

Between the two performances, Viggo Mortensen continues to stand out as an actor in multiple projects, each one more diverse than the last. The Danish-American artist has always been in favor of a theatrical cinematic experience, and he reaffirmed his position in a recent interview. Vanity Fair By attacking Amazon.

But there is a special reason for this. In 2022, the famous interpreter of Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings franchise starred in a disaster film directed by Ron Howard, released on Prime Video.

Viggo Mortensen is furious with Amazon

Except that the feature film was originally slated to be released in theaters after test screenings held by MGM for the film, which “Achieved Highest Score in Studio History”. But Amazon’s takeover of MGM has complicated things, as Viggo Mortensen explains:

“They were going to release it in thousands of theaters around the world. Then Amazon bought MGM, first they promised to keep MGM’s deal with Ron Howard, and then they went ahead. Basically, you saw this movie in one week in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. – in Angeles, London, and that’s what I thought was a really good movie.

For Viggo Mortensen, there’s no doubt that Amazon was acting out of greed to save money, as the film was only shown in a few theaters in the United States for a few weeks before being released online on an international platform.

“They figured it would be more profitable — meaning they’d make more money — if they didn’t have to spend money promoting it, releasing it theatrically, and sharing that money in theaters, frankly.”he claims “What does this mean? It’s greed for me.”

If it’s a very personal opinion for the American-Danish actor, he also defends director Ron Howard, who he says didn’t get the treatment he deserved:

“For a guy with such a storied career like Ron Howard, who made so much money for the studios, who was historically justly recognized as a filmmaker, to do that to a guy like him, I think it’s terrible. He’s a really nice guy. So he wasn’t complaining, But I’m happy to do it for him.

A film based on an incredible true story

Admittedly, the feature film could have received a larger theatrical exposure, given that it is a disaster drama based on a true event, a genre that often draws audiences to the cinema. The film was primarily well received by the public, it was also rated 4.1 out of 5 by AlloCiné viewers.

To recall, Thirteen Lives tells the incredible true story of a massive global effort to rescue a young Thai soccer team trapped in a cave in Tam Luang due to rain.

Faced with insurmountable odds, a team of the world’s most skilled and experienced divers—who can navigate a maze of narrow, flooded tunnels—join Thai forces and more than 10,000 volunteers to rescue the twelve boys and their coach.

With the stakes incredibly high and the eyes of the world upon them, the band embarks on the most difficult dive in their history, showcasing the limitless side of the human spirit.

Viggo Mortensen plays one of the hero rescuers, Rick Stanton, a cave diver, along with Colin Farrell as John Volanten, a cave diver and member of the Cave Rescue Organization, and Joel Edgerton as anesthesiologist Richard Harris.

Thirteen Lives is available on Prime Video.