Rent Captain Phillips (2013)

5* For a Great, True Action Drama - Captain Phillips review by CP Customer

I am not usually a fan of action films, or of Tom Hanks, however, I was intrigued by this story, based on true events.

This was a thrilling, enthralling tale of modern day piracy and the strenght and will of the crew who were set upon whilst passing by (not through) Somali waters. Hanks is great and showed some of the acting gumption of his Chuck Noland role in Castaway!

Barkhad Abdi, who plays the role of Muse (main pirate) is amazing and for which he deservedly won a BAFTA and an Oscar nomination. His inexperience adds to the tension and creates a real sense that anything could happen.

What really stood out for me was the desperation in Somalia, a country with no leadership or government, where power is violence, guns and brutality. The pirates are not rich, those who abuse them and force them to 'work' are! One part of the film said it all, Muse tells Cpn Phillips that the previous year they took a Greek ship and made 6 million dollars. Phillips replies

"6 million dollars? So what are you doing here?"

Thoroughly enjoyable and I was gripped all the way through, which surprised me (and my Husband)!

Good film - but it gives off more than a whiff of Hollywood drama - Captain Phillips review by RP

I have always found Tom Hanks to be a 'wooden' actor, but here he plays his role excellently as Captain Richard Phillips of the container ship Maersk Alabama as it is hijacked by Somali pirates. The film is long - overlong - and tense; but then it descends into Hollywood farce as seemingly the entire might of the US Navy is deployed to rescue them.

I couldn't help but contrast this with the Danish film 'A Hijacking' which tells a similar tale of a merchant ship attacked by Somali pirates - far more restrained, more tense, and far more gritty and down to earth. And there's no last minute rescue by the US Navy either...

Perhaps the best thing about 'Captain Phillips' is that it attempts to give some insight into the lives and motives of the pirates and does this fairly well.

I enjoyed it, but it's seriously overlong and while it may be based on a true story it gives off more than a whiff of Hollywood drama.

3/5 stars. And for the record, I rated 'A Hijacking' as 5/5 stars.

A stunning, phenomenal, nerve-shredding, highly emotional & brilliantly acted film - Captain Phillips review by Timmy B

After The Bourne Supremacy, Paul Greengrass exploded into the film world. From nowhere, this British director who had only made a couple of small-scale but extremely well-reviewed films then made one of the best espionage thrillers that I have seen to this day. I will never stop praising as one of the greatest; so much so it is in my list of top 10 films & has been ever since I watched it. Then he made United 93, again one of my favourite films & a masterpiece in every way.

However, in 2010 he then directed Green Zone, a film so terrible that I began to worry that he had completely lost his touch. For example, Greengrass's signature style is his use of handheld cameras to increase tension & intimacy of what you are watching. In Green Zone however, this is totally over the top, to the extent that the film is basically unwatchable, as well as having a terrible script. So when Captain Phillips was announced, I was fearing that this could be the final nail in the coffin of one of the best filmmakers I'd come across in recent years.

And then I saw it...

This film is a monumental achievement. I literally cannot find one single thing that doesn't work. It is a flawless, stunning masterpiece: incredibly acted, brilliantly shot & most importantly, showing both sides of the situation that Phillips & the pirates find themselves in.

Captain Phillips is about Richard Phillips, a long serving cargo ship captain who we first meet at home preparing to go off to sea. From the opening moments, the dread & fear is in the air, slowly creeping up on you. The reason for this, which is spelled out very clearly in the first few minutes, is the massive number of cargo ships which are attacked & the crews taken hostage by pirates who then demand extortionate ransoms. Despite this, Phillips insists that the ship continues to sail as normal, arguing that irrelevant of where they go, there is a big risk. The ship is then boarded by pirates who end up taking Phillips hostage, who then have a stand-off between them & the US navy.

The biggest triumph of this film, as I hinted earlier, is that both sides of the situation are shown. The vast majority of the pirates depicted were fisherman/other unstable & vulnerable careers, who then lost their incomes when other countries started to take all their fish/commodities. And for the pirates who managed to get their hands on these ransoms, the rewards were stratospheric for them & their families. This is fleshed out in great detail during intimate chats with the pirates & never does the film condone their actions, merely explains them/shows the extreme hardship & desperation they are in.

The performances are note-perfect, none more so that Barkhad Abdi as the lead pirate. As was noted by Greengrass on the special features, there are not many new, let alone experienced actors, who can go up against a 2-time academy award winner & for it to work. But Abdi is great, as are the other pirates, who are all Somalian & had their own extremely difficult experiences. Hanks is wonderful, playing the role of Phillips with tenacity as well as the genuine fear that he was not able to keep his crew safe.

The film then, once it gets into the lifeboat, switches up a gear again, becoming an almost unbearably claustrophobic pot-boiler: a shocking battle of wills between the pirates & military.

And then we get to the ending: it is one of the most emotional, shocking, tense & difficult scenes in my entire time of watching films. The tears starting streaming & didn't stop until the end credits. This film grabs you at the beginning, keeps you in a vice, then builds up to a incredible & visceral conclusion. I cannot say enough good things about it. You finish it & sit there, drained & exhilarated.

This is one of the greats, showing exactly how films can move you & deeply affect you. Flawless perfection in every way.