I will admit that I was somewhat late in seeing Captain Phillips. I had intended to see it on opening weekend but when I got to the cinema I found it had sold out. That's usually a sign of a good film and so I was determined to see it at some point, but then with the arrival of Thor and my busy schedule over Halloween, Captain Phillips got pushed to the back of the priority list.
One evening, after spending the day shopping with my friend, we decided, completely unplanned to continue our day with a trip to the cinema. With no idea if there was any film going to be starting within the next half an hour we turned up and decided on Captain Phillips, which was the next film to start. We had also both wanted to see it and not had chance up to then, and we figured that as it was likely to finish before films like Gravity, we would see it.
It was surprisingly busy for a film that had been out for a few weeks but we took our seats and immersed ourselves in the world of a freight ship Captain. The Captain in question, Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks), says goodbye to his wife and embarks on a journey from Oman to Mombasa on the container ship MV Maersk Alabama. He is conscious of pirate activity in Somalia, which they are passing though, and orders a ship-wide safety drill in case they are boarded. The crew thinks this is paranoia until sure enough, pirates appear, but the prepared Captain and crew manage to evade the men and alert the authorities to the situation. Their luck runs out the following day when the pirates return with a faster skiff and a longer ladder and board the ship. The Captain does everything in his power to remove the threat from his ship and crew but is taken hostage and used by the pirates in a demand for ransom.
Let me start by saying that this is one of the tensest movies I have seen since Argo, only instead of having tense moments like that movie did, you are pretty much tense from the moment Tom Hanks steps on board that ship to when the end credits roll. I attribute this to the accomplished direction by Paul Greengrass (who is known for his direction of two of the Bourne movies), and to Tom Hanks fantastic performance.
Although I have often appreciated Tom Hanks' movies, I have never really connected to his characters emotionally, within those movies. It's never really detracted to my enjoyment of the films, it just means that he's never been a favourite actor of mine. However, in Captain Phillips he really captured my attention, and my emotions, and held them with him for the entire film. I was in bits at the end, and I know my friend was too. What a performance. Just give him the oscar now.
I was also impressed by the performances of the four pirates. Especially considering none of them had acted before. They were convincing and terrifying in equal measure.
If it's still on at a cinema near you, I urge you to see Captain Phillips before it finishes it's run. I promise you it's worth all the hype. If you've missed it on the big screen then add it to your love film/netflix list, you won't regret it. 9 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 9th November 2013
UK Release Date - 9th October 2013
Cast Overview:
Captain Richard Phillips ~ Tom Hanks
Muse ~ Barkhad Abdi
Bilal ~ Barkhad Abdirahman
Najee ~ Faysal Ahmed
Elmi ~ Mahat M Ali
Shane Murphy ~ Michael Chernus
Andrea Phillips ~ Catherine Keener
Mike Perry ~ David Warshofsky
Ken Quinn ~ Corey Johnson
John Cronan ~ Chris Mulkey
Captain Frank Castellano ~ Yul Vasquez
SEAL Commander ~ Max Martini
Director ~ Paul Greengrass
Writer ~ Billy Ray (Screenplay), Richard Phillips and Stephan Talty (based on their book "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea")
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