A gripping real-life thriller

Rating: 9/10 (26 March 2014)

In 2009 the cargo ship MV Maersk Alabama set off from Oman; its destination the Kenyan port of Mombasa. Its route taking it through waters where Somali pirates routinely operated. The ship's captain, the eponymous Capt. Richard Phillips orders his crew to undertake anti-piracy drills but before they can finish real pirates are spotted approaching rapidly from the rear. When the pirates suffer an engine failure it looks as if Phillips and his crew have got away but the next morning the pirates return and four of them board the Maersk Alabama with the intention of taking it back to Somalia for ransom. The captain and the bridge crew are captured but other crew members set about disabling the ship. The leader of the pirates Abduwali Muse begins a search of the ship and is ultimately captured by the crew. An arrangement is made to swap him for the captain but this isn't respected and the four pirates escape on the lifeboat, taking Capt. Phillips with them. It isn't long before the USS Bainbridge is on the scene and things get tense as they negotiate while Navy Seals prepare to take drastic action should the pirates not surrender.
This film is based on a true story but even if you know the outcome it shouldn't effect ones enjoyment of what is a genuinely tension filled thriller. Director Paul Greengrass does a great job capturing the action; the fact that it was filmed at sea rather than using green screens only improves matters. The cast do a fine job; most notably Tom Hanks as Capt Phillips and new comer Barkhad Abdi who was brilliant as Muse. His character wasn't a cliché movie villain but nor was he overly sympathetic. Overall I'd say this film is well worth watching; even if you aren't a fan of 'real life stories' I doubt this would have been any more exciting if it had been entirely fictional and you didn't know the outcome.