Good All-round entertainment

Rating: 8/10 (9 February 2014)

Captain Phillips is based on true events and director Paul Greengrass who has his roots in docu filmmaking has already plenty of experience in making military themed films. It's filmed in his trademark shaky-cam style: this gives it a more dynamic feel and more immersion for the audience but for some people it might get a bit annoying. Performances are all-round excellent with Tom Hanks as the venerable Captain and some unknown actors as the Somalians. A good choice as well known actors might have been distracting and less believable. It's also obvious the US military lent their cooperation to this movie as it clearly demonstrates how the American army works as an efficient machine. Some actors in this film are also real-life army personnel. In this film it's not a problem as it doesn't feel like a military promotion as some other films like Annapolis or Act of Valor. Captain Phillips will keep you entertained for a good 2 hours so it's certainly worth the watch. For me it can win some Oscars but Gravity still remains my favorite.