Well done, generally realistic thriller

Rating: 8/10 (10 June 2014)

We were pleasantly surprised by this film. Even knowing how it ends, the suspense wore us out. It stuck fairly well (by Hollywood standards) to facts, except for the extreme time compression of a film story, and some unnecessary bits ("If you want to shoot someone, shoot me!"). Tom Hanks was capable as always. Neither he nor the crew appeared heroic, so much as people trying to make the best of a bad situation. The captain's awareness of danger and decision to stay only 300 nm offshore was depicted, along with his conviction that "further out wouldn't make any difference". Also, the desperate situation of the pirates, their being bullied into piracy, their conviction of being robbed by illegal fishermen, their personal lack of resources and gain (those millions go to the bossmen) from piracy all were described. The deep social pathology of Somalia's current anarchy is evident, but not highlighted. I imagine the US Navy loved this movie, but they had overwhelming force available. The hostage could lose, but the pirates could not win. Many of the reviews say more about the viewpoints of the reviewers than the movie itself. Barakhad Abdi and Faysal Ahmed were brilliant in depicting the intelligent, conflicted, and deeply messed-up characters they portrayed.