![]() ![]() In a video for History Hit, comedian, podcaster and history presenter Iszi Lawrence declares that Captain Phillips does stick close to the facts in its depiction of Somali pirates and their methods for attacking a much larger ship. The running time is 2 hours and 14 minutes.īuy a copy of my book, "Straight-Up Blatant: Musings From The Aisle Seat," on sale now at ! Paperback and Kindle editions also available at Amazon.Ten years after Hanks’ Captain Phillips joined the star’s long rundown of hit movies, a pirate expert has revisited the film with an eye toward breaking down its authenticity. This outstanding film drives that idea home with immense power.Ĭaptain Phillips is rated PG-13 for sustained intense sequences of menace, some violence with bloody images, and for substance use. Some of them will resort to extreme measures to get those things. There are people in the world who crave things most of us take for granted. The suspense comes from the ideas that run underneath the plot. He gives one of the best debut performances you will ever see.Īs exciting as it is, Captain Phillips is ultimately about much more than thrills. Abdi is a force of nature in this movie, projecting a scary mixture of anger, determination, and self-delusion. He is well matched by newcomer Barkhad Abdi, who is so natural on camera that you swear they must have gone and hired a real Somali pirate for the role. Hanks handles this transition with grace and authenticity. Emotions come pouring out, from all across the spectrum. In the final fifteen minutes, though, he can no longer hold it in. Tom Hanks delivers yet another brilliant performance as Richard Phillips. Because Captain Phillips so acutely portrays the desperation behind their actions, it makes the characters all the more chilling. It is this simple fact that causes the men to keep pushing, even when it becomes clear that the Navy is going to press hard against them. One good score could change his life and the lives of his co-conspirators. He comes from a place of extreme poverty. While we don't agree with his reasons for doing what he does, we most definitely understand them. It doesn't sympathize with them, but it doesn't portray them as generic monsters, either. The other effective thing the movie, written by Billy Ray, does is to humanize the Somalis. Best of all, Captain Phillips avoids the trap of feeling “action-ized,” of seeming as though it's artificially amping up the proceedings. The movie has a real sense of urgency, crystallizing how much is at stake every second. (It's often unfairly described as “shaky-cam.”) This method goes a long way toward making you forget that you're watching a reenactment of actual events. As he did with United 93 and two of the Bourne pictures, Greengrass takes a documentary-style approach to the material. ![]() Even if you know the outcome, there's an inordinate amount of suspense generated as you watch how events unfold.Ĭaptain Phillips was directed by Paul Greengrass. The Navy's attempts to rescue Phillips are a big part of the movie, as well. There are dramatic twists in the tale, largely involving the motives of the Somalis and how they plan to achieve their goals. In reality, Captain Phillips delivers 134 of the most intense minutes of cinema you'll see this year. What I've described sounds like it would make for a 30-minute film. The most difficult part of writing a review of a movie that's based on a true story is deciding what does/does not constitute a spoiler. From there, the situation proceeds to become more and more dire – for everyone. Phillips attempts to orchestrate some defensive maneuvers, but the pirates still manage to get on board. Four armed Somalis, led by Muse (Barkhad Abdi), begin chasing the ship in a small skiff. Aware of the threat, he conducts emergency drills to prepare his crew for any possible threat. This particular voyage is set to take Phillips and his mostly union crew through an area where known Somali pirates lurk. As the film opens, he kisses his wife (Catherine Keener) goodbye and hops a plane to where his ship is docked. Tom Hanks plays Richard Phillips, the captain of the MV Maersk Alabama, a U.S. Captain Phillips tells a harrowing true story that many people may remember from 2009. ![]()
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