Possible spoilers ahead!
I think Tom Hanks just won his third Academy Award.
“Captain Phillips” tells the true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years. Hanks is simply amazing as Captain Richard Phillips, as are the two main pirates Barkhad Abdi and Barkhad Abdirahman. But tis Tom Hanks who commands the viewer’s attention. Although Hanks is one of my favorite actors, I haven’t enjoyed one of his movies since “Charlie Wilson’s War” way back in 2007. However, I’m happy to say “Captain Phillips” is his best work in years.
The movie starts with a short scene between the Captain and his wife, who is played by Catherine Keener, but you may not realize that its Keener since she’s mostly shot from behind. I’m guessing they cut out a lot of her stuff for time constraints or something. Anywho, an aspect I really enjoyed about “Captain Phillips,” is that the film doesn’t waste anytime. After the four or five-minute sequence between the Cap and his wife, the movie jumps into overdrive. Within the first 10 minutes, the Maersk Alabama has already left port. From there on, it’s absolutely non-stop drama, and action.
Once at sea, it’s not long before the Somali pirates attempt to hijack the Alabama, but fail when their boat can’t keep up with the large ship. I always thought they took the ship in one try, but it wasn’t until the second try that the pirates were successful. Once aboard, Hanks leads the pirates on cat and mouse chase, as they search for the rest of the crew. It’s a very simple sequence, but director Paul Greengrass managed to fill it with drama, and emotion. Eventually, the Captain and the pirates end up in the lifeboat, and we all know what happened after that.
“Captain Phillips” is over two hours long, but to me it felt like a 90 minute movie. Everything happens so fast, you don’t notice you’ve been sitting for nearly two and half hours. As I said, Tom Hanks is amazing, and the movie keeps you on the edge of yoru seat. But “Captain Phillips” is not a perfect movie. I have a great deal of respect for director Paul Greengrass, but his trademark use of hand-held cameras went a bit too far in “Captain Phillips.” This style of filmmaking was perfect for his Bourne films, but its unnecessary on a drama like “Captain Phillips.”
In this movie, Paul Greengrass uses the technique too often, and it some random spots. At time, the camera moves so much, that you don’t know what’s going on, or who is talking to who. But I will admit the hand-held cameras work well during the last act of the movie.
Despite my one complaint, “Captain Phillips” is a wonderful film, and definitely worth checking out. True stories adaptations are hard to pull off, but anything is possible with Tom Hanks. Put simply, this movie would not be the same without him.
“Captain Phillips” Final Score: 9
I did the space movie thing way before Clooney!
The Nerds Uncanny 