Captain Phillips

Well after the last year’s academy award winner Argo, here we have another agonizing real life rescue mission thriller Captain Phillips. With surprising performances from the actors who portrayed the antagonists and events happening with an intriguing depth Captain Phillips was a nail biting experience.

The film here has Captain Richard Phillips as the central protagonist. He is in command of MV Maersk Alabama from Oman to Mombasa. On their way through the Somalian costs the ship gets attacked by certain pirates and the film deals with the happenings surrounding this particular incident. How the captain handled the scene is what we see on screen.

What I liked the most in the movie is those small portions where the writer has showed the reasons behind Muse’s desperation to get money. That in a way makes the audience hate the situation which leads to all this chaos rather than the pirates who are after millions of dollars. The security measures taken by the captain, the helplessness of the crew under these circumstances, the prompt smartness of the employees to clear the mess and the situation that makes the captain leave his ship are visualized quite smartly. And the military developments towards the conclusion are also captured in a convincing way.

On screen Tom Hanks has done it quite brilliantly. You can feel that discipline in the character and the emotions on his face could convey the state of the situation. I really loved the last five minutes of the film where he delivers that breakdown with absolute conviction. The surprise package of the film was indeed the black lads lead by Barkhad Abdi. Their performance really enhances the deadliness of the scenario which literally makes us pray for the crew and captain.

Direction is elegant and the anxiety is maintained very nicely. Even within the short span, they have managed to put us on that ship. Screenplay is thrilling indeed as it never really wastes time on any emotional baggage.  The runtime is more than 2 hours, but you won’t feel any deceleration in the narrative. The objections against the captain are also included in the screenplay. Cinematography and edits are pleasing. Engaging background score is there to enhance the thrill.

On the whole, it’s that must watch thriller movie where you will be relieved to see the main character out of danger. I am giving a 4/5 for Paul Greengrass’s Captain Phillips. Aye Aye Captivating Captain.