Greengrass's direction guides movie to a built-up tension.

Rating: 7/10 (19 February 2014)

Paul Greengrass has directed two of Hollywood's best action movies when he sat in the director's chair for The Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum. This time around though he tackled a real life situation and the result was something quite phenomenal. I would say most of the movie is good, but due to the incredible shots by Greengrass's camera the film only gains quality. Tom Hanks plays Captain Phillips, a man who in 2009 was captured by this Somali pirates and faced a life threatening equation. The experienced Hanks handles the character well and gives a very human side to him. This isn't a particularly hard role, but let's just say that besides Tom Hanks, there are only a handful of actors who could have pulled off what he pulled here. The revelation is obviously Barkhad Abdi, who puts some so called "Hollywood" actors to shame. He shows a lot of maturity in a demanding role for someone with his inexperience. My favorite part of the film was without a doubt the directing approach by Paul Greengrass. It is the kind of work that I believe should have been nominated at the Oscars and it is truly a shame. Captain Phillips is a very entertaining thriller and overall it delivers. Dramawise however the movie lacks a bit since I don't believe it to be the best worked angle. It is dramatic but not to a great extent.
Rating 7,5/10