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Starring
in the title role of “Captain Phillips” Tom hanks will undoubtedly
receive a well earned sixth nomination and possibly his third Oscar. For
two hours he plays the Tom Hanks the audience knows and loves but in
the last thirteen minutes tears your heart out as he once did in the
AIDS movie “Philadelphia”.
in the title role of “Captain Phillips” Tom hanks will undoubtedly
receive a well earned sixth nomination and possibly his third Oscar. For
two hours he plays the Tom Hanks the audience knows and loves but in
the last thirteen minutes tears your heart out as he once did in the
AIDS movie “Philadelphia”.
“Captain
Phillips” is based on a true story that made worldwide news headlines
in 2009 when 4 Somali pirates boarded the huge maritime container ship
the Maersk Alabama with Captain Richard Phillips in command of a crew
of 20. The pirates are lead by Muse, played powerfully by newcomer
Barkhad Abdi, who should come in for a lot of mentions during award
season, consisting of Bilal (Barkhad Abdirahman) a 19 year old who has
no idea what he is doing, Najee (Faysal Ahmed) seeing millions of
dollars coming his way when he boards the ship and Elmi (Mahat M. Ali)
perpetually frozen with fear. The four live in poverty, sometimes
earning money as fishermen and all living on khat, a plant also known as
jaad, that provides excitement and euphoria but most of all a loss of
appetite that keeps them going for days keeping their mainly thin bodies
on
edge..
Phillips” is based on a true story that made worldwide news headlines
in 2009 when 4 Somali pirates boarded the huge maritime container ship
the Maersk Alabama with Captain Richard Phillips in command of a crew
of 20. The pirates are lead by Muse, played powerfully by newcomer
Barkhad Abdi, who should come in for a lot of mentions during award
season, consisting of Bilal (Barkhad Abdirahman) a 19 year old who has
no idea what he is doing, Najee (Faysal Ahmed) seeing millions of
dollars coming his way when he boards the ship and Elmi (Mahat M. Ali)
perpetually frozen with fear. The four live in poverty, sometimes
earning money as fishermen and all living on khat, a plant also known as
jaad, that provides excitement and euphoria but most of all a loss of
appetite that keeps them going for days keeping their mainly thin bodies
on
edge..
The
first hour of the film sets up a cat and mouse game, mainly between the
captain, crew and pirates, while the second half is the captain and the
four pirates encased in an enclosed lifeboat and the attempt by Navy
destroyers, helicopters and the Navy seals to rescue the captain without
his being armed. This was a time when no one, captain, commercial ships
or crew, carried arms of any kind so the pirates with their rifles and
guns have the upper hand even against hundreds of men who want to get
them.
first hour of the film sets up a cat and mouse game, mainly between the
captain, crew and pirates, while the second half is the captain and the
four pirates encased in an enclosed lifeboat and the attempt by Navy
destroyers, helicopters and the Navy seals to rescue the captain without
his being armed. This was a time when no one, captain, commercial ships
or crew, carried arms of any kind so the pirates with their rifles and
guns have the upper hand even against hundreds of men who want to get
them.
The
director, Paul Greengrass, and his cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, along
with film editor Christopher Rouse make you feel the claustrophobia of
the 5 men in the lifeboat and the power of the waves that an ocean can
make.
director, Paul Greengrass, and his cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, along
with film editor Christopher Rouse make you feel the claustrophobia of
the 5 men in the lifeboat and the power of the waves that an ocean can
make.
As
with most films today, except for the recent “Gravity”, this film,
running at 2 hours and 14 minutes, is about 15 minutes too long with a
few scenes that could easily been cut by the screenwriter Billy Ray
which leisurely sets up the raid both by the pirates and the Navy.
with most films today, except for the recent “Gravity”, this film,
running at 2 hours and 14 minutes, is about 15 minutes too long with a
few scenes that could easily been cut by the screenwriter Billy Ray
which leisurely sets up the raid both by the pirates and the Navy.
The
cast is uniformly fine but it is watching the two men, Abdi making his
film debut, and the complete turnaround of stoic, upright Hanks, facing
off on tight screenshots that makes this a worthwhile movie to see.
cast is uniformly fine but it is watching the two men, Abdi making his
film debut, and the complete turnaround of stoic, upright Hanks, facing
off on tight screenshots that makes this a worthwhile movie to see.
