Good story, but needed more character development

Rating: 6/10 (23 January 2016)

We find something universally appealing in stories of rescue. A story of humans risking their own lives to help other humans lifts our spirits—and perhaps reminds us of the value inherent in each one of us.
So does The Finest Hours—the rescue movie from Disney opening this weekend— deliver?
The movie stars Chris Pine and Casey Affleck and is the true story of the 1952 Coast Guard rescue of men whose oil tanker literally broke in half during a violent storm. The actual story is pretty incredible, considering the odds against the men in the hull of the tanker and the odds against the small Coast Guard boat.
What makes any rescue movie so poignant for the viewer is a connection with the characters. When we bond with a character, we want him to make it. The Finest Hours attempted to do this by giving us some back story on Bernie Webber (played by Chris Pine), the man leading the rescue. But for me, it just wasn't enough.
I was more interested in Ray Sybert, the man aboard the tanker (played by Casey Affleck) who took charge . The movie hinted at a back story— relationships issues with the crew—but the director instead focused on the action sequences on the boat. In the end, it seemed Sybert's heroic actions were downplayed.
I'm not giving anything away; it's a common fact the rescue was successful. The movie is awash (no pun intended) with special effects, but in the end, it was just a boat rescue with no heart connect with the characters.