I developed Thalassophobia in seeing this film

Rating: 8/10 (10 March 2016)

It takes some time before the film plunges to action as it gets out of the way the film's romance first. Chris Pine downplays his on- screen charisma and jumps from spaceship captain to "space"-less ship captain (get it?) in playing the role of Bernie Webber, an introverted coast-guard officer. It is 1952 and Bernie is about to go on a first date with Miriam (Holiday Grainger). Flash-forward a couple of months, and Miriam asks Bernie to marry her (yes, not the other way around). Bernie, having known her for basically less than a year, initially says no but as she walks-out of the room and cries, Bernie follows her and takes back his answer (tears, indeed, are a woman's weapon). Their engagement gets postponed when chief warrant officer Daniel Cluff (Eric Bana) sends Bernie to a suicide mission to rescue a crew from an oil tanker ship, the S.S. Pendleton, that's split in half during the winter storm. O.K., hold up, a ship split into half, one part sinks and the other stays afloat—how insane is that? The events that occur this film seem improbable that I myself have journeyed to research; however it turns out, most of these events, including this one, really happened.
From this point, the film is forked into three story-lines which happen concurrently: Bernie's rescue mission with his volunteer crew; the events happening back in the mainland; and the struggle of the men inside the oil tanker ship led by engineer Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck). Bernie's arc holds the message of the film—valor and humanity inevitably comes through at the most improbable odds. "In the coast guard they say you go out, they don't say you gotta come back," Bernie says before they trudge on to the raging sea and get tossed by its gigantic waves. In these intense moments of distress, Chris Pine delivers an admirable performance as the underdog rising to the occasion.
This old-fashioned rescue story is sure to be taken back to films such as Titanic (1997), The Perfect Storm (2000), or The Guardian (2006). Viewers will whine from the onset: "I have already seen this film years ago", and they will be right. The Finest Hours certainly isn't the "finest". This film is quite the outlandish choice for Disney's usually colorful productions. In closer inspection, you understand just why: it sends a powerful and uplifting message about resilience, leadership and faith—characteristics that the outfit so admirably adamantly promotes.
Full review here: http://goo.gl/ilmQ8i