 Tagline: Out here survival is everything Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. Based on a true story, the film focuses on the Alabama's commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two-time Academy AwardŽ-winner Tom Hanks, Best Actor, 1993, Philadelphia; Best Actor, 1994, Forrest Gump), and the Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), who takes him hostage. The two men are set on an unstoppable collision course when Muse and his crew target Phillips' unarmed ship; in the ensuing standoff, both men will find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control. Storyline: Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. It is - through director Paul Greengrass's distinctive lens - simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller, and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama's commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy AwardŽ-winner Tom Hanks), and the Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), who takes him hostage. Phillips and Muse are set on an unstoppable collision course when Muse and his crew target Phillips' unarmed ship; in the ensuing standoff, 145 miles off the Somali coast, both men will find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control. Written by Sony Pictures Entertainment Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman on January 10, 2014 -- Only a special sort of movie can create an environment that exudes authenticity, that places its audience in palpable peril alongside the characters, that recreates a harrowing episode of real-life nerves, brinkmanship, and a peculiar understanding between adversaries. Few movies are so adept at constructing characters made of unmatched fullness, complete emotional centers, and subjected to heart-racing terror. Precious few pictures manage to paint a picture so terrifyingly enthralling, and evenly so, that the audience is pulled completely into the world and absorbed in every bead of sweat and each uneasy, thrusting heartbeat in the chest. It's the rare film that can take a highly publicized real-life event, with the outcome known well ahead of time, and engender such uneasiness in the open and raw fear and uncontrollable emotional turmoil during and even after the fact. Director Paul Greengrass' (The Bourne Supremacy, United 93) Captain Phillips is a truly special movie that finds an uncanny balance in narrative progression, action, drama, heartbreaking emotion, and heart-stopping terror. With faultless craftsmanship, pitch-perfect performances, and a story so incredible it could only be based on real life, Captain Phillips ranks as one of the finest films of 2013 and cements Paul Greengrass as one of the masters of the filmmaking craft. Vermont resident Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) is accompanied by his wife Andrea (Catherine Keener) on his way to the airport to board a plane bound for the Middle East with a final destination of Oman's Port of Salalah. There, he will board and captain the Maersk Alabama, a U.S.-flagged cargo ship set to sail through pirate-infested waters. Phillips orders his crew and first officer Shane Murphy (Michael Chernus) to tighten up ship's procedures, lock all doors, and enhance security measures. An e-mail warning of increased piracy persuades Phillips to conduct an unannounced anti-piracy drill that suddenly becomes a very real reaction to two unidentified skiffs appearing on ship's radar. A course correction is matched by the unknowns. The crew is mustered to stations. A call to the U.S. Maritime Emergency Line goes unanswered; a follow-up to the U.K. equivalent is met with basic advice. Phillips pushes the Alabama to her limits and escapes the pirates. The following day, however, a single skiff carrying four men manages to catch the Alabama. She's boarded. Her crew goes into hiding while the captain and the bridge crew are held at gunpoint by three men and their captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), who insists on locating the crew and ransoming their lives for a hefty sum in the millions of dollars. If Captain Phillips can crete such an intense, terrifying world and elicit so many raw, unchecked emotions, one can only hope to understand the sort of multiplied terrors and fears that gripped the Alabama crew, her captain, and even near the end, the pirates. Director Paul Greengrass opens that authentic world like few films before his. Like Greengrass' United 93, Captain Phillips recreates a widely-known event and crafts a disturbing, all-too-real look at everyday people and the extraordinary situations in which they find themselves, situations into which they are unwittingly thrust while closely examining the progressions and consequences of their actions under terrible duress. Also like United 93, Captain Phillips moves well beyond the physical actions and storyline dramas to more deeply explore the significantly more complex human emotions in play and in constant flux throughout the story, from inside both the heroes and the villains alike as actions and reactionary forces play out through their words, their maneuvers, and the unseen but clearly felt turmoil that tears at them from the inside. Few films, and fewer filmmakers, are so accomplished at exploring the complexities of man under force of peril and uncertainty as Paul Greengrass, and Captain Phillips is a jewel representative of the culmination of deep understanding and flawless execution of the cinema medium as both entertainment and vehicle for unfettered emotion. Greengrass' precision filmmaking wouldn't be worth much without fine complementary performances, and his cast brings a lifelike, almost disturbingly authentic presence to the film. Tom Hanks again dominates the picture, falling into part with almost unparalleled believability. He portrays an everyday sort of man who's confident in his ability as ship's captain and sure of his authority, but also a man who fears on the inside and gradually falls perilously close to the brink of collapse on the outside the closer he comes to meeting the business end of an AK-47. Hanks portrays a man quick on his feet yet nearly immobile with terror on the inside, a duality that's challenged the further he's pushed into his journey with every new turn, each drop of blood spilled, every intimate moment with his captors. He plays the character from the inside out incredibly well and sells every moment, culminating in a heart-wrenching final scene in which he lets loose the sort of unprepared and unrestrained emotions that only a close relationship with tragedy can truly engender in a man. The two-time Oscar winner is matched scene-for-scene by newcomer Barkhad Abdi who delivers a frighteningly authentic performance as the film's primary antagonist, a man who is every bit Phillips' match and travels a similar arc. Abdi brings to the part a natural screen presence and understanding of the performance craft that's evident with every glance and movement but also a deeper soul that's all too often missing from film antagonists. The film is nearly as much his story and the ballet of blood, sweat, uncertainty and fear between the captains as it is Phillips' story alone. The contrasting worlds, the building pressure, the excitement, the uncertainty, and the culminating catharsis of it all in one of the most powerful and precisely acted end scenes in cinema history all give rise to what is a perfect movie. Captain Phillips is a masterpiece of the medium, a picture that commands the screen, captivates its audience, and tells a tightly woven tale of real life danger, heroism, and terror. It's expertly directed and incredibly acted. The film should attract at least a handful of high profile Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Editing, and win several. Sony's Blu-ray release of Captain Phillips features excellent "Mastered in 4K" video, faultless audio, and a small but satisfying assortment of extra content. Captain Phillips earns my highest recommendation. [CSW] -3.7- You will see humanity, poverty, bravado, fear, heroics, confusion, blame, professionalism, and the shattering aftermath, and it's not at all clear who are the good guys when all is said and done under society's pressures. See this. It's worth it. The Somali actors are refugees living in the United States. In the movie, when they speak to each other it's in Somali and subtitled but you really won't notice. I had some reservations about this film because of prior knowledge that the real crew was upset that the captain didn't take a course that was further away from the Somalia coast however I thought that the film included an adequate explanation of why he didn't. You know a film is good when you know the outcome ahead of time but you're still riveted to the screen. Although I don't know how much of this was real and how much is Hollywood I felt like I understood every person and his point-of-view, and that is unusual. The interplay between the Hanks (Captain Philips) and Barkhad Abdi (the Somali pirate leader) is riveting. I was quite happy to see that Barkhad Abdi got nominated for an Oscar as supporting actor (and I wish he had won) because his portrayal of the Somali pirate leader was chilling and bordering on creepy, he was that good. [V4.5-A5.0] MPEG-4 AVC - D-Box 10/10. Cast Notes: Tom Hanks (Captain Richard Phillips), Catherine Keener (Andrea Phillips), Barkhad Abdi (Muse), Barkhad Abdirahman (Bilal), Faysal Ahmed (Najee), Mahat M. Ali (Elmi), Michael Chernus (Shane Murphy), David Warshofsky (Mike Perry), Corey Johnson (Ken Quinn), Chris Mulkey (John Cronan), Yul Vazquez (Captain Frank Castellano), Max Martini (SEAL Commander), Omar Berdouni (Nemo), Mohamed Ali (Asad), Issak Farah Samatar (Hufan). IMDb Rating (06/23/14): 7.9/10 from 213,522 users IMDb Rating (12/26/13): 8.1/10 from 59,497 users
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