Captain Phillips Review

Join Captain Richard Phillips as he fights against Somalian Pirates

From Paul Greengrass, director of the Bourne Trilogy and United 93, comes this true story that follows ship captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking of the US-Flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first cargo ship to be hijacked in over two hundred years. When I think of this movie, one particular moment stands out. It's not the intense moment when the pirates latch on to the ship, it's not even the mesmerizing, traumatizing performance of Tom Hanks at the end of the movie (which did leave me speechless). For me, the aspect I'll have great respect for was the beginning of this movie. It starts with Captain Phillips and his wife getting in the car and driving to the ship dock. On the car ride there, they begin talking about their every day problems. They're worrying about their son who is not really applying himself in school, etc. Then comes the next shot. The next scene takes place in Somali and shows this broken down, poor town filled with starving people. In this scene we meet our antagonist(?), Muse. The reason I love this directing choice is because it's a great way to set the story. The juxtaposition of Phillip's problems and the problems of citizens of a 3rd world country was brilliant. It starts off with showing the audience the aspect that makes this movie so appealing, there aren't necessarily good guys or bad guys. It's not as black and white as some other movies lately, which is always fun to watch. Even though that scene is the one that stands out to me, the film is not short on great moments. Like I stated earlier, the scene in which the pirates latch on to the ship is incredibly intense. You don't have to really know what happened in real life to know the outcome. The pirates latch, they take over the ship, and the rest is history. Even though you know what happens, your heart still pounds out of your chest. The actors who portrayed the pirates were another highlight of this movie. Novice actors Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, and Mahat Ali all deliver great performances, performances that made it seem like they've been in this business for a long, long time. Once the pirates board the ship, this movie gets real. You feel the tension between the Captain and the pirates, the writing, directing, and particularly acting made the hijacking scene feel extremely real. The film was going great so far, but then it stumbled a bit after it's sprinting start. The crew turn the tables on the pirates, they negotiate and the pirates decide to take the money in the safe and just leave. Before they do, however, they take Captain Phillips with them in a sealed lifeboat with the intention of keeping him for ransom. This is when the film really slows down. I take pride in saying I've only fallen asleep once in a movie; that was The Phantom Menace. Now my incredible record is tarnished. I regret to say I actually feel asleep for a good 20-30 minutes in this movie. The concept of the hostage being in close quarters with the pirates is intense and I'm sure when (if?) Richard was really in that situation tensions were high, and probably not as boring as it was to watch on screen. Seeing as how I was unconscious, I can't really critic the middle of the movie. I can only critic the last 30 minutes, which felt like receiving an enormous adrenaline shot to the heart. Once the Navy came into the picture the scale of this movie expanded tremendously. You really begin to feel the high stakes and the unquestionable importance of stopping these terrorists and retrieving the Captain. In the end, Captain Phillips is a riveting and powerfully realistic portrayal of bravery and courage. Even though the film gets a bit clunky and slow in the middle, director Paul Greengrass finishes off his hostage epic with such intensity brought by enthusiastic edits, a powerful soundtrack, and a mesmerizing performance by the whole ensemble especially the master himself, Tom Hanks. Final Rating: A-