Gripping, realistic drama on the high seas

Rating: 9/10 (24 November 2013)

I was reluctant to go to this film. But "Captain Phillips" turned out not to have the plot I thought it would, and it also turned out to be a lot better than I thought it would be. I've enjoyed director Paul Greengrass's movies in the past, but this smart, modern movie is his best so far.
I suppose it added to my enjoyment that I really had no idea how it would end. The key moment that launched the second half of the movie shocked me. I felt a lot of anger towards Phillips at that moment for being so stupid.
I don't think Greengrass could have portrayed the Somali pirates more accurately. He brings these people to life for the film-goer. I wouldn't say that he portrays them sympathetically, but he definitely humanizes them. Nothing is black and white.
The second half of the movie is almost a propaganda film for the US military, but it worked for me completely. I'm a little tired of films that make the American military look like boobs or monsters. Some say the second half dragged on too long, but many of us have lost our sense of dramatic pacing and tension because of video games, the internet, and a diet of city-crunching superhero and robot movies. The pacing and tension in the scenes in the lifeboat were necessary for the climax.
Tom Hanks is good in this film as a competent captain and ordinary guy, but his performance as a shocked victim at the end was quite moving. All the Somali actors also deserve recognition.
A highly recommend film.