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FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Captain Phillips is an account of the Maersk Alabama hijacking in 2009, in which Captain Richard Phillips was taken hostage by Somali pirates.
When I first heard about this movie, the first thing that struck me was how unbelievably lame the title was! I mean, how much more generic can you get? I thought, "That can't be the official title!" Luckily, the film itself turned out to be much more interesting. :)
Since I don't know the true story, I thought it was going to take place entirely on the ship as the pirates' attacks are fended off. But actually, that's only the first half. The second half takes place on the lifeboat, as the pirates attempt to get the captain back to shore and the Navy tries to stop them peacefully. That adds a great diversity to the movie, constantly keeping things fresh and tense.
This also applies to the character of Captain Phillips himself: he's given a good range of emotions to work with, from determinedly defending his ship to fearing for his life. I'm a huge Tom Hanks fan, and here he delivers yet another performance to be proud of. The only thing that might prevent him getting an Oscar nomination is that apparently the movie seriously twists the facts in order to portray the captain as more of a hero than he really was.
Still, in its own right, this is a very enjoyable movie, rich in suspense and momentum.
My rating: 75%
