A bare bones thriller

Rating: 9/10 (15 March 2014)

A bare bones thriller: no ridiculous special effects, or stupid character behavior. A small (main) cast of just Tom Hanks' character, and the three pirates for a lot of the run time gives the film a more focused feel. Hanks doesn't turn the character into a hero who saves the day, he's just a normal human being trapped in a situation far beyond his control. He's scared, yet he tries to remain calm; he even shows signs of developing Stockholm Syndrome at times: most memorably, as he tends to the injured and bleeding foot of one of the pirates.
The best scene: the final scene, where Phillips, in a state of shock, is walked to a medic for evaluation. The sound goes into a tunnel, and everything sounds quite far away, while happening right in front of his face. Phillips is clearly disoriented and unaware of what is happening around him. After being injured myself, shortly before this film was released, I can relate to those sensations, or lack thereof. It brought back too grim memories for me, but added to the realism of this film.
Another plus is the hiring of unknowns to play the three pirates. Casting recognisable faces would have given the audience a bit of familiarity to the pirates going into the film, and dulled the edge to their characters.
Worst scene, the only bad scene, is the first scene, of Hanks' character and his wife driving and talking, boringly. A needless connecting device leading into a first rate thriller.