Exceptional Hanks in Tense Thriller

Rating: Null/10 (22 November 2013)

Captain Phillips (2013)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Intense thriller about Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) who finds his cargo ship being attacked by Somali pirates and must try and find a way to survive the ordeal and this includes trying to strike up a relationship with the main pirate (Barkhad Abdi). Even if you know how this true story ends, don't let that keep you away because director Paul Greengrass and star Hanks have really created an incredibly intense and well-acted nail-bitter that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. I've you've seen the theatrical trailer then you might think that the majority of the action takes place on the cargo ship but that's actually not the case and I'd say this here is perhaps the weakest aspect of the film (although it's still incredibly good). The real story happens once Phillips and his captors are out at sea; them demanding money and Phillips wanting his freedom. The director does a marvelous job at not only building up the suspense but also making us care about the characters and hate them. The Phillips character is obviously someone you're going to root for and especially with someone like Hanks in the role. The bad guys here are given a lot of character development, which was excellent because we get to understand and see why these men do this type of thing even if it might cost them their lives. There's a terrific sequence where the main pirate talks about his "dreams" of America. Hanks gives one of the best performances of his career and there's not a single second in the picture where you won't believe him in the role. This is especially true as the film goes on and the situation grows more tense. The way Hanks' emotions just start to break was something remarkable to see the actor pull off. Abdi also deserves a lot of credit because you just can't help but hate this guy while at the same time hope that he will smarten up so that some sort of peace can happen. The other three pirates are masterfully played as well. CAPTAIN PHILLIPS is a film about survival and there are some terrific action scenes but the movie also has a heart and the character development is something we don't often see in movies like this.