Pass the Popcorn review

Rating: 7/10 (19 October 2013)

Captain Phillips is a movie based on a true story, and on the book Richard Phillips himself wrote after the events that occurred in 2009: his cargo ship was attacked by Somali pirates, and after that he was taken hostage in a lifeboat, while the pirates awaited ransom and the US Navy tried to save Mr Phillips. Apparently, this movie is an Oscar contender, and many hail it as the best this year. I'm definitely not these people: Captain Phillips is a good movie, but it should have been better to be worthy of an Oscar. On the other hand, since the Oscars are often given to every Tom, Dick and Harry with no apparent reason, we might have a winner here – which, compared to some other movies this year, may truly be one of the most worthy of the award.
There's not much to say about the story that I haven't already said. The movie starts by depicting Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) as a family man, traveling to the airport with his wife Andrea (Catherine Keener) whom he loves very much, talking about their grown-up children and how it's never easy to part. It would have been nice to see Phillips' family again later in the movie – that would have added even more emotion to the story. Also, this is a lovely sequence, and I think people in a long-distance relationship will appreciate it the most. Mr Phillips reaches the Sultanate of Oman in the next scene, and gets aboard the MV Maersk Alabama – a cargo ship – with his crew. They know they will have to travel close to the coast of Somalia to get to their destination, so they are ready in case of pirate attacks. Unfortunately, after a first failed attempt, four Somali pirates, led by Muse (Barkhad Abdi), manage to get on board and take part of the crew hostage – and so a battle of wits begins.
First of all, it's nice to get a true story that's really interesting and worth watching, once in a while. Too often do directors seem to think that, if they put "based on a true story" somewhere before the opening credits, the movie that follows will be able to grip the audience and make it automatically feel for the characters. The director Paul Greengrass is really working hard to make you feel the tension, the fear and everything else the characters are feeling – as if you were there with them. For example, the scenes in which the pirates try, and eventually manage, to get aboard the ship are able to make you so nervous you need to take a pill to calm down. Therefore, it's really baffling how such a movie, with such a story, can get so boring so often. Apart from the fact that it's unnecessary long – over 2 hours! – some scenes are obviously lengthened for no apparent reason (except to make the movie longer?). Generally, it's very difficult to stay focused for so long, and it's even more difficult when you have nothing to keep you interested. And since even Escape Plan managed to be constantly entertaining and interesting, Captain Phillips' boringness can't be justified.
While, like I said, I don't think Captain Phillips deserves an Oscar as a movie, Tom Hanks just might get a well-deserved one for best actor. I've never liked him in particular, but here he proves to be a great actor, as he carries the whole movie and is impressively spontaneous and believable in his main role. Barkhad Abdi, who plays Muse, the pirate gang leader, is amazing in his first-ever role as the main antagonist. Perhaps the best characteristic of this movie is that it doesn't separate people in 'Americans and good' and 'Somali and bad'. It acknowledges there's so much more: the people who choose to be pirates don't really have much of a choice, in their anarchistic, warlord-controlled country. While we want captain Phillips to get home safely, it's cruel to leave those pirates to their fate – we know that if they go back to Somalia they will keep on living a tough life and perhaps will even be punished by the warlords that gave them the order to attack the ship. And yet, they have broken the law and nobody can really help them. In real life, Mr Phillips developed Stockholm syndrome after getting home: this shows clearly what a complicated subject we're dealing with. In conclusion, aside from the flaws I pointed out and because of its good sides, this is a good movie you should definitely see.
Rating: 7/10 Read more at http://passpopcorn.com/