Captain Phillips (2013)

Running Time – 2hrs, 14min

Genre – Action, Adventure, Biography

Director: Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy)

Writer(s): Billy Ray (The Hunger Games)

Critic’s Review Rating: Metascore, 83/100. Rotten Tomatoes, 94%

Box Office: (as of 11/6/13) Source: www.Boxofficemojo.com

Domestic: $83,078,911

Worldwide: $43,400,000

“The most gripping based-on-fact film so far this year.” – Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News.

 “Captain Philips is harrowing, inspiring, a must-see piece of moviemaking.” – Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer.

                Captain Philips is a film based on a true story about Captain Richard Philips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years. Since it’s release, the movie has been showered by perfect reviews and outstanding critic response.  The motion picture also was a huge Box Office success, generating more than $126,000,000 around the world and the number is still growing. It’s budget of $40 million was overwhelmed by its massive gross and let’s just say Tom Hank’s paycheck is not small by any means.

The movie overall in my opinion was terrific, you can match this movie’s performance to films such as Gravity (2013) and Lee Daniel’s, the Butler (2013).  Both flawless movies with brilliant acting and dialogue. Captain Phillips has all those qualities and more, including magnificent visual effects and an intriguing but not a confusing storyline. The film for the majority of the time is set in Somalia waters and inside the country itself. You may think looking at an ocean for a whole two hours may get boring but the large body of water is actually a huge part of the plot and does in fact look like an ocean. The story also has a way of making you decide who are really the terrible people. Bringing in the back-story of the pirates and also the exhilarating hostage event with Captain Philips, you alone must decide the scoundrel of the breath-taking tale.

With stunning visual effects and over the top acting by Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan) and Barkhad Abdi (Today), the movie has earned itself 4.7 out of 5 paws. The only reason the movie is anything but perfect is the short beginning, which not only confused me but started to make me think this movie will be a dull mess. Though the film was able t0 push through this awkward gap and rise to excellence. I highly recommend everyone to see it and I can almost guarantee that you will love it.

Review by Joel Freecheck, Media Reviewer