Fine work all around

Rating: 7/10 (21 August 2016)

The Finest Hours depicts the true story of what is called the greatest US Coast Guard rescue in history. In 1952, Chris Pine, a junior officer, and his small team of men, get dispatched into a raging storm to attempt to rescue survivors from a horrific accident that ripped an oil tanker in half.
Pine apparently had failed in a previous rescue attempt, and in the small New England city town, this stain stayed with him forever. But his young bride-to-be brings an out of town attitude that kicks people in the butt, getting them to move, when she sees her spouse's life endangered. There is just enough of that plot to have you rooting for the young couple, but not too much to sap the main story.
Casey Affleck delivers from the other side, as the chief engineer on the ship that is going down. The ideas he devises to gain time and give the crew their only chance for survival are incredible.
The special effects of the powerful storm, the rescue craft trying to make it thru the breakers, the sinking oil tanker, and the incredible rescue will leave you gasping for air.
Despite the Hollywood ending, the fact that the basic facts are true leaves you in awe of these kinds of people, who, when faced with a disaster, run towards the problem, not away. It certainly makes me appreciate the Coast Guard a lot more than beforehand. These are tough people. The Finest Hours is a tough, solid film, with superb acting and high drama. I think you will enjoy it.