Captain Phillips (2013)

“Listen up, we have been boarded by armed pirates. If they find you, remember, you know this ship, they don’t. Stick together and we’ll be alright. Good luck.” – Captain Richard Phillips

Number of Times Seen – 1 (4 Dec 2013)

Brief Synopsis – Based on the true story of a cargo boat captain and his crew who were taken hostage by Somali pirates in 2009.

My Take on it – I heard about this movie close to a year ago and had been looking forward to seeing it ever since.

I think the hype got to me tho, because I was expecting a much better and more powerful movie than I saw.

Tom Hanks (as always) is superb here and his character gives off the hue of command confidence that he has been able to achieve numerous time in the past; most notably in Apollo 13 (1995) and in Saving Private Ryan (1998).  When a commander is able to show his men that he is calm and in control during tense and dangerous situations, it give them the courage to move forward also.

Even though the story is truly about Captain Richard Phillips and his heroic efforts to save his crew, much screen time is given to Muse, the leader of the pirates played by Barkhad Abdi.   This was an interesting choice, because they want to show us the motivations of the pirates and Abdi effectively does so.

This movie is directed quite well by Paul Greengrass and he once again shows how skilled a director he can be.  I still think United 93 (2006) is his best movie, but here, he makes us feel that we are right there when the action is taking place which helps to elevate the movie-watching experience.

I truly wonder if I would have enjoyed this movie even more had I not been blinded by the hype.

Bottom Line – Hard to go wrong with Hanks, but parts of the story feel too far fetched despite being based on a true story. Very well done movie, but doesn’t live up to all the hype. Interesting story and acting. Recommended!

Rating – Globe Worthy

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