Sunday, October 13, 2013

Captain Phillips - movie review

Movies based on true happenings I always find interesting and this movie, Captain Phillips, is no exception. In 2009 Somali pirates hijacked a US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama - the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in 200 years.  Although there were only four hijackers, Captain Richard Phillips played by Tom Hanks was able to get them off the boat into the lifeboat. Unfortunately, they took him with them. Tom Hanks does such a great job with this role, he may get another Oscar nod.

In the meantime, the US Navy sent a boat and the seals were sent from Virginia. Director, Paul Greengrass does a really great job in keeping the tension high.  In fact this story could have been quite boring, but it wasn't. The tension between Captain Phillips, Tom Hanks and the leader of the Somali Pirates, Muse played by Barkhad Abdi was kept at a high level, as both men interact with each other.

I remember hearing about this event at the time, but thought they stopped the Pirates on the cargo ship, but they weren't. They were stopped on the lifeboat. Muse, the leader was talked off the lifeboat onto the US Navy ship, and ended up in a Missouri jail, whereas the other three were killed.

I found that I was quite exhausted from the adrenaline rushes the up and down and even when you know the outcome the director made it great to watch.  3 1/2 out of 5.

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