Drama 'Captain Phillips' Incredibly Intense

By Darlene Donloe

Captain Phillips, starring two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks is one of the best and most intense films of the year.

From start to finish the movie has audiences on the edge of their seats and doesn’t let up until the credits roll.

Paul Greengrass’s (The Bourne Ultimatum) drama is a pure adrenaline rush. He takes us on board a ship and then inside of a lifeboat. It’s the true multi-layered story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates.

The film focuses on the relationship between the Somali pirate captain named Muse and Captain Phillips, who was eventually kidnapped.

The movie starts off in the home of Phillips and his wife (Catherine Keener) and follows them as they drive from their home to the Burlington airport. The captain is about to take a flight to East Africa to pilot the container ship M.V. Maersk Alabama toward a rendezvous with international piracy.

The crew knew there was a possibility of piracy, but didn’t really take it seriously even though they were going to go around the Horn of Africa. Unfortunately, they have no weapons with which to defend themselves against any enemies.

Although it’s a thriller, the ending is not very surprising. Because this is a true story, we already know the ending. But, on the way to the ending - the audience gets an up close and personal account of the drama Captain Phillips had to endure. The story is well-known. It was reported throughout the media over a five day period when the story was unfolding.

In real life, Phillips is being applauded for his cool, calm demeanor, which was instrumental in saving his crew. When the pirates were about to board the ship, he told his crews to hide and not to come out.

One of the scariest moments in the movie is when Muse (Barkhad Abdi), the Somali pirate who commandeers the Alabama, points a gun in Phillips’ face and says, “I’m the captain now.” 

The line can’t help but give movie fans the shivers.

This is one of Hanks’ best performances to date. It ranks right alongside his roles in Forest Gump and Philadelphia.

All of the actors who play the Somali pirates are played effectively and authentically.  They are genuinely intimidating and a bit scary.

Captain Phillips stars Tom Hanks, Faysal Ahmed, Barkhad Abdi, Mahat M. Ali, Corey Johnson, Bark Abdiraham, Catherine Keener, Chris Mulkey, Max Martini, Omar Berdouni, Mohamed Ali and Issak Farah Samatar.

On the DONLOE SCALE, D (don’t know), O (OK), N (needs Work) L (likeable) and E (excellent) Captain Phillips get an E.

Captain Phillips, currently in theaters, is Rated PG-13. Running time: 2 hr. 14 min.