"Look at me! I'm the captain now!"

Rating: 7/10 (30 November 2019)

Quite good, guess I was expecting more though based on all the hype. Story follows Tom Hanks (as yet another) Captain, this time of a U.S cargo ship who tries to outrun Somali pirates but eventually gets boarded and then taken hostage in a lifeboat. It's inspired by a real life hijacking from 2009 and the movie does a fantastic job of building the tension as things progress. The story also doesn't rely on CGI or anyone saving the day to make things more exciting although we do get a huge section with Navy boats, SEALs and a helicopter but I suppose that part is true.
Tom Hanks character is subdued until the end when he's in shock, that's when I enjoyed him the most. He does a good job, he's Tom Hanks. We also get things from the pirates POV which was great, I felt sympathy for all of them. Barkhad Abdi is fantastic but all the pirates were good, not just evil, faceless bad guys but multidimensional characters with backstories. Worth checking out.