Tom Hanks: The Pride Of Hollywood.

Rating: 10/10 (2 February 2014)

Why do people you admired in you youth grow old with the passage of time? I wish that all the actors and actresses I admired could stay young forever...
Tom Hanks is a man I admired and one of my favorite Hollywood actors. He has won a special place in my heart with films like Splash(1984), Big(1988), The Burbs(1989), Turner & Hooch (1989), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), Philadelphia(1993-Won Academy Award for Best Actor), Forrest Gump(1994-Won Academy Award for Best Actor), Apollo 13(1995), You Got Mail (1998), The Green Mile(1999), Cast Away(2000), Road to Perdition(2002), Catch Me If You Can(2002) and The Ladykillers (2004 Remake). If you are his fan, these films should be the core of your DVD collection.
Back to this film. Captain Phillips is based upon the 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking, an incident during which merchant mariner Captain Richard Phillips was taken hostage by pirates in the Indian Ocean led by Abduwali Muse.
At the start of the film we see Phillips(Hanks) making last minute preparations for his departure to Oman. From there he boards the Maersk Alabama and embarks on a cargo transport route through the Gulf of Aden to Mombasa, round the Horn of Africa. Due to pirate activity off the coast of Somalia, the Phillips orders strict security precautions on the vessel and carries out practice drills.
During the practice drill Phillips sights Somali pirates in two skiffs. He then plans to outrun them by giving orders to turn the engines to maximum power output - at the cost of accidental over-heating and engine shutdown. He succeeds, but the pirates do not give up. The following day they catch-up and board the Maersk Alabama.
From then on, what happens is for you to find out. Rent/watch online or download/or go to the cinema when the time and price of the ticket suits your budget.
The photography, atmosphere and script is brilliantly done. Paul Greengrass does a good job in the director's seat. He previously directed United 93(2006) based upon the 11 September 2001 hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93.
Tom Hanks gives a very real portrayal of the terror of being kidnapped. He shows the true leadership quality of a Captain by protecting the bulk of his crew from the Pirates.
In conclusion: one of the better films of 2013. And in parting might I add that the image of Tom Hanks in my memory will always be how he looked like in the film Big(1988). God bless you Tom Hanks.