Great Duel between "Captains"

Rating: 9/10 (8 March 2014)

In 2009, Captain Richard "Rich" Phillips (Tom Hanks) of the US-flagged Container Ship Maersk Alabama is navigating in international waters near the Somali coast and he notes that Somali pirates are following his ship. Captain Phillips tries to escape but four Somali pirates reach the deck and hijack his vessel. Phillips hides his crew in the engine room and the Somali pirate Captain Muse (Barkhad Abdi), the violent Najee (Faysal Ahmed), the teenager Bilal (Barkhad Abdirahman) and Emil (Mahat M. Ali) come to the wheelhouse and find only Phillips, his First Mate and another crew member. Muse demands money and Phillips offers him US$ 30,000.00 that are in the safe. Muse decides to seek out the crew, but the situation is reverted and he is captured. The Chief Engineer proposes to exchange Muse per Phillips and they offer the lifeboat and the money to the pirates. However Muse kidnaps Philips and takes him hostage to the lifeboat. The duel between the American and the Somali captains has just begun.
"Captain Phillips" is a dramatic thriller based on the true story of the first American ship hijacked by Somali pirates. The story is engaging and holds the attention until the last scene, despite the 134 minutes running time. The characters are well developed and the duel between Philips and Muse is excellent. My vote is nine.
Title (Brazil): "Capitão Phillips" ("Captain Phillips")