Captain Phillips is good stuff!

Rating: 9/10 (7 February 2014)

I've seen Captain Phillips twice now, once in the theater and once at home. I actually liked it better the second time I saw it, which rarely happens. When I first saw it, I thought it dragged on but I realize now that's only because the person I was seeing it with kept complaining about it the whole time. Second time around, it was a whole different story.

Great directing. Paul Greengrass really got the best out of the actors and crew and you can't help but notice. I've only ever seen the Bourne films which I liked, but this has piqued my interest in seeing more of his films.

Superb acting. The Somali actors (particularly Muse) really steal the show here, but Tom Hanks turns in a great performance. You can see the tension in each of the actors' eyes. I'll be surprised if the gent who plays Muse doesn't get a supporting actor nod.

Good script. The tension built, the dialogue escalated, and the characters developed. You really felt the helplessness and desperation on both sides (CPT and the Pirates)by the end. Overall it was a very impressive story arc.

Not sure what everyone was talking about when they said it was a shaky camera mess. I thought the cinematography was great. Plenty of sweeping wide shots, dramatic close ups, and of course shaky action shots. What else can you expect? I thought it was well done. There were a few awkward edit points that distracted from the movie, but other than that well done!

My only complaint about this movie is that there wasn't more back story with the Somali pirates. I would have liked to have seen more about the "Garaad," or the elders. Other than that I really, really liked this movie! Would highly recommend it!