Captain Phillips
4/4
Starring: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali
Rated PG-13 for Sustained Intense Sequences of Menace, Some Violence including Bloody Images, and for Substance Abuse
Warning: this movie is not for people with heart problems...
"Captain Phillips" has a silly title. The movie, however, is not silly. It's a genuine near-masterpiece. The level of suspense is nearly unbearable, and there isn't a false note in any of the performances, four of whom have no acting experience.
Captain Richard Phillips (Hanks) is a average guy who happens to be the captain of the container vessel Maersk Alabama. They are travelling through a rough part of Africa, and are boarded by pirates.
Plot-wise, there's really not much more that I can say without giving anything away. Suffice it to say, that it goes in directions no one expects...especially not Phillips or the pirates, led by the gaunt Muse (Abdi).
What makes this movie so compelling, at least in part (acting and direction no doubt have a part too), is that the crew of the Alabama and the pirates are in their way evenly matched. The pirates have weapons and determination, but the crew knows their ship better and they have a captain who is intelligent and able to think on his feet.
This isn't exactly Hanks showiest acting role (certainly not in the way that Forrest Gump and Robert Langdon are...or even Captain Miller in "Saving Private Ryan" are), but it's one of his best performances. Phillips is not an action hero by any means, but he is skilled at using what he has to get out alive. He is personable and able to think on his feet. His main concern is the safety of himself and his crew, and he uses his guile, and more importantly, his amiability, to diffuse the situation as much as he can. The easy way for Hanks to approach this would be that of a smooth-talking con-man (similar to what Leonardo DiCaprio did in "Blood Diamond." Not that that's a mark against DiCaprio...it worked in that context). Instead, Hanks plays him as a business manager. This is a more believable action, not to mention more effective. If Hanks doesn't get an Oscar nomination (which he will), it will be one of the great shockers in Academy history.
His co-stars are just as good. Although he looks like a complete psychopath in the trailer, Muse is not the most threatening villain (that distinction goes to Barkhad Amdirahman, who plays Bilal, Muse's second in command). He's intelligent and dangerous, yes, but he's also pragmatic and not impulsive. What is really impressive about the acting is that most of the performances by bit parts are so realistic that it could have been a documentary. The Navy rescuers are particularly good.
Paul Greengrass has always been an interesting director, but his trademark shaking of the camera is often his undoing (like in the Bourne movies and "Green Zone"). But here, like in "United 93," it works. Not only is it toned down to where we know exactly what is going on in every frame, but the action is real and desperate. There's no sense of "Hollywoodization" here. Apart from Hanks, who is so good that you forget that it's him, it could very well be a docudrama.
The bottom line here is that this is a truly amazing movie. It's unbelievably intense and emotionally draining (both of which are compliments, by the way). It's going to make anyone who watches it feel spent.
This is one of the great movie-going experiences of my life.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali
Rated PG-13 for Sustained Intense Sequences of Menace, Some Violence including Bloody Images, and for Substance Abuse
Warning: this movie is not for people with heart problems...
"Captain Phillips" has a silly title. The movie, however, is not silly. It's a genuine near-masterpiece. The level of suspense is nearly unbearable, and there isn't a false note in any of the performances, four of whom have no acting experience.
Captain Richard Phillips (Hanks) is a average guy who happens to be the captain of the container vessel Maersk Alabama. They are travelling through a rough part of Africa, and are boarded by pirates.
Plot-wise, there's really not much more that I can say without giving anything away. Suffice it to say, that it goes in directions no one expects...especially not Phillips or the pirates, led by the gaunt Muse (Abdi).
What makes this movie so compelling, at least in part (acting and direction no doubt have a part too), is that the crew of the Alabama and the pirates are in their way evenly matched. The pirates have weapons and determination, but the crew knows their ship better and they have a captain who is intelligent and able to think on his feet.
This isn't exactly Hanks showiest acting role (certainly not in the way that Forrest Gump and Robert Langdon are...or even Captain Miller in "Saving Private Ryan" are), but it's one of his best performances. Phillips is not an action hero by any means, but he is skilled at using what he has to get out alive. He is personable and able to think on his feet. His main concern is the safety of himself and his crew, and he uses his guile, and more importantly, his amiability, to diffuse the situation as much as he can. The easy way for Hanks to approach this would be that of a smooth-talking con-man (similar to what Leonardo DiCaprio did in "Blood Diamond." Not that that's a mark against DiCaprio...it worked in that context). Instead, Hanks plays him as a business manager. This is a more believable action, not to mention more effective. If Hanks doesn't get an Oscar nomination (which he will), it will be one of the great shockers in Academy history.
His co-stars are just as good. Although he looks like a complete psychopath in the trailer, Muse is not the most threatening villain (that distinction goes to Barkhad Amdirahman, who plays Bilal, Muse's second in command). He's intelligent and dangerous, yes, but he's also pragmatic and not impulsive. What is really impressive about the acting is that most of the performances by bit parts are so realistic that it could have been a documentary. The Navy rescuers are particularly good.
Paul Greengrass has always been an interesting director, but his trademark shaking of the camera is often his undoing (like in the Bourne movies and "Green Zone"). But here, like in "United 93," it works. Not only is it toned down to where we know exactly what is going on in every frame, but the action is real and desperate. There's no sense of "Hollywoodization" here. Apart from Hanks, who is so good that you forget that it's him, it could very well be a docudrama.
The bottom line here is that this is a truly amazing movie. It's unbelievably intense and emotionally draining (both of which are compliments, by the way). It's going to make anyone who watches it feel spent.
This is one of the great movie-going experiences of my life.
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