Captain Phillips (2013)

Director: Paul Greengrass
Screenplay: Billy Ray (based on the book by Richard Phillips and Stephan Talty) 
Cast: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi 
Music: Henry Jackman
Time: 134 minutes
Bottom-line: Tom Hanks all the way

Veteran acting Tom Hanks returns to the screen in this Paul Greengrass biopic, Captain Phillips. The film is based on the pirate hijacking of Richard Phillips’ ship, his subsequent capture, and its aftermath. Tom Hanks portrays Captain Phillips, while Barkhad Abdi portrays the pirate chief Abduwali Muse. Despite its slow start, the film is a terrific entertainer, with Tom Hanks giving us another first-class performance.

In 2009, Richard Phillips (Hanks) takes charge of MV Maersk Alabama, an unarmed vessel carrying cargo. The ship is going from Oman to Mombasa. Phillips is aware of pirate activity off the Somalian coast, and hence prepares everyone aboard with a drill. Soon, a group of pirates led by Abduwali Muse (Abdi) manage to enter the ship. Phillips asks the crew to hide, and faces the pirates himself with two other men. After a lot of events, the pirates eventually take Phillips as hostage with them to Somalia. Whether or not the US Navy and the others are able to rescue Phillips, and what Phillips does to try and escape, form the rest of the film.

Hanks as Captain Phillips

When people realized that the Academy had not nominated Tom Hanks for the Oscar, I am pretty sure they would have been cursing the Academy. It must have been a touch choice for the Academy this year (for they can nominate only five actors for award), but I really feel that Hanks deserves an Oscar nomination (even if he doesn’t win). Till the last thirty minutes, Hanks pretty much has a standard facial expression. His displays authority and leadership quite well, and always has a very subtle expression of fear in his face. In the last thirty minutes, his acting is sublime. He expresses sadness, anger (for the first time in the film too) and shock. While everyone praised Barkhad Abdi for his acting, I found it good, but not great. He too, more or less, has the same expression throughout the film, but his portrayal of a villain is quite good, even more so as it is his debut film. The other actors who play the three pirates have done well, and in fact, no actor (be it an extra or a main character) disappoints, in this film.

Abdi as Abduwali Muse

The story is slow to start, with Greengrass giving an elaborate build-up for both Phillips and Muse. The introduction to both these characters could have been reduced, but after the first 35-40 minutes, the film is a straight road of thrill. Greengrass builds the suspense very well, and he also maintains it throughout the action scenes. He does well to show the twists and turns, and also makes the film realistic, instead of making it an all-hero show. There was some controversy after the film’s release, where many crew members said that Phillips was not main hero of the rescue mission, as shown in the film.

The four pirates

The scene where the pirates attack the ship, and the way Phillips tried to defend his ship are filmed brilliantly. The scenes of the final stage of the rescue mission is also thrilling to watch, thanks to the photography, which, in some places, is even better than Gravity. Jackman’s score is superb, and is in accordance with the scenes. In my view, the score just before the closing credits (not intending to create any controversy here) is similar to Hans Zimmer’s score just before the ending of Inception.

Hanks as Phillips (left), and the actual
Richard Phillips (right)

 To sum up, Paul Greengrass’ biopic Captain Phillips is a film where Tom Hanks once again shows why he is boss. Classy acting by him, with support from Abdi and all the other members of the cast, some great bits of photography and good background music are all the plus points of the film. Though the start is slow, the movie is a splendid thriller all the way.

My Rating: 4/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 93%