An impressive film with many flaws.

Rating: 8/10 (18 October 2013)

'CAPTAIN PHILLIPS': Four Stars (Out of Five)
Director Paul Greengrass's Oscar hopeful based on the Maersk Alabama hijacking of 2009, which was the first American cargo ship hijacked in 200 years. It's told from the point of view of the ship's captain, Richard Phillips, and based on his book 'A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea'. The events of the story have been greatly contradicted and detested by Phillips' crew, creating a controversy around the film. I doubt the movie is a truthful telling of what actually happened in any way but it's still a good film. Greengrass's direction is once again masterful and the script by, Billy Ray (who's also co-written films like 'THE HUNGER GAMES', 'FLIGHTPLAN', 'HART'S WAR' and 'BREACH', which he also directed), is intense and involving. The film is too long and drawn-out and filled with Hollywood clichés but it builds to a breathtaking conclusion and Tom Hanks, as the title character, gives one of the best performances of the year (and his career).
The film takes place in April 2009, off the coast of Somalia, onboard a container ship called MV Maersk Alabama. We first meet it's captain, Richard Phillips (Hanks), as he's driving to his ship, in America, with his wife Andrea Phillips (Catherine Kenner). We know little about him other than he's worried about how current times have gotten much tougher for younger generations. We next see him at sea with his crew as he prepares for the worst and is then attacked by Somali pirates. They're led by a skinny young Somali named Muse (newcomer Barkhad Abdi). We also meet Muse at home, first, where he's barely surviving (like everyone in his community) and is forced into piracy. Phillips is able to ward off Muse and his men momentarily but they later board his ship and terrorize his crew. The captain does his best to protect his men and get the pirates off his ship.
Captain Phillips' crew say they were highly offended by the film and that it was "just horrendous" to see a Hollywood movie depicting the arrogant and reckless Phillips, that jeopardized their lives to save time and money, as some kind of a hero. He was actually anything but and received several e-mails warning him of the piracy in the area but kept them from his crew and went off-course anyway (into pirate areas, despite his crew's cries not to). I usually don't have a problem with filmmakers taking creative license, and changing source material or true events, but in this case I do think it was distasteful. To make a film about a seemingly immoral man, who put his crew into such a torturous life-threatening situation and present him as a hero is morally wrong and offensive to the people involved. Just judging the film as a fictional movie though, and not based on any real people or true events, I do think it was a well made film. Flawed in pacing but strikingly moving in character development and, like I said, the ending is amazing. Hanks is truly astonishing and the film does do a good job of depicting the Somali pirates in a sympathetic way and showing how they were forced into a horrible situation they couldn't get out of (just like a lot of us). The filmmakers also casted inexperienced Somali actors in the pirate roles (through a worldwide casting search) and they were all good and convincing in the film (especially Abdi). The movie is an impressive film with many flaws, and can be seen as offensive, but it's still worth the watch in my opinion. It probably doesn't deserve all the Oscar hype (or future award recognition) though. Except for Hanks.
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