Captain Richard Phillips is on another routine shipping route going from Oman to Mombasa when his boat, the MV Maersk Alabama, is intercepted by Pirates from Somalia. Early in the film we see the band of hijackers put together. Lead by Abduwali Muse (Abdi), a young man who is physically small (being referred to as "Skinny" by Mahat M. Ali's character, Elmi). However, he is on a mission to prove himself to the rest of his tribe. Muse is sets his sights on raiding an enormous vessel, in this case, the Maersk Alabama, Captained by Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks). A by the book, no frills Captain, Phillips runs a piracy drill when it suddenly becomes the real thing. When the Somalians finally board the ship, they hold the crew on the bridge hostage as the rest of the ship's crewmen hide themselves in the engine room. Finally, as a last ditch effort to get some real money out of the situation, Muse and his crew board a small lifeboat on the Maersk and take Phillips hostage, asking for millions of dollars in his return.
The Somali pirates attempt to board the Maersk Alabama in "Captain Phillips"
Captain Phillips is not your typical hijacking action picture (this certainly isn't an "average joe" version of "Air Force One" set at sea). Director Paul Greengrass takes his style that made his previous works very difficult to watch (depending on what school of thought you belong to) and makes "Captain Phillips" seem like a bizarre voyeuristic look at something the American public heard about on the news. I wouldn't necessarily call it a "fly-on-the-wall" style approach, but to me, the shaky cam style felt much more at home with Captain Phillips than it did with Bourne. Greengrass has honed his technique enough to add even more to a visual depth to the movie's dry hues of brown, oranges, yellows, and blues.
What really sells this movie and makes it an excellent experience is the lead performance of both Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi. If one of those two roles wasn't cast solidly, I don't think the film would have worked on the level that it did. Francine Maisler must be praised for assembling a small cast within a much larger supporting cast of blank militaristic hair cuts, sweaty sea pirates, and panicked American sailors. The film goes into overdrive when Muse, Elmi, Bilal (Barkhad Abdirahman), and Najee (Faysal Ahmed) enter the lifeboat.
Tom Hanks deals with the hijackers as Richard Phillips
One would think that because many people went into the theatre knowing the ending, the film would suffer because of it. After all, the true life story of what really occurred was heavily covered by American and global news outlets. But when it came down to it, none of it mattered. The film was every bit as nail biting and extremely intense as if I'd never known any of the elements of what occurred.
The script is every bit as tight as the claustrophobic passage ways aboard the Alabama. Another element of the script that I really loved? The film becomes twice as intense and claustrophobic when Phillips and the hijackers enter the tiny lifeboat in which the film's third act takes place. Well done, Mr. Greengrass. As the Oscar race heats up, I wouldn't be surprised if both Hanks and Abdi garnered nominations in the Lead and Supporting Actor categories respectively. "Captain Phillips" is a tight, intense, and brilliantly made film that crosses multiple genres and does them well. Hanks is hypnotizing in the lead role as a man who just wants to go home.
8/10
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Written by Billy Ray
Based on the book A Captain's Duty by Richard Phillips
Runtime - 134 minutes
8.1 stars on IMDb
94% on Rotten Tomatoes
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