Based on the true story of Captain Richard Phillips in 2009 when the cargo ship was hijacked by Somali pirates. The first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years . . .
Now this film has really had the trailer attached to everything to really build up people wanting to see it, I saw it last night at a Cineworld Unlimited screening and they even put it on the biggest screen at our cinema! It was pretty full as well which was pretty good to see. Now we all knew the basics of this film, but managing to keep the viewer entertained and engaged for 2 hours and 10 minutes was never going to be an easy task. But this is something that in the end seemed to be pretty easy as the tension was slowly built up to the dramatic climax.
With Tom Hanks in the leading role you know beforehand that you are going to be in for a good ride and that certainly doesn’t disappoint. I will admit that at some point during the film I did think it was moving way too slow but understand that was essential due to the character build up and showing how strong Phillips had to be in order to survive.
He protected his crew the best he could and managed to superbly keep them hidden as the Somali’s lead by Muse attempted to take the ship. Not happy with just taking $30,000 dollars Muse wanted millions. I mean you can see flaws in the plan and how he thought he would get away with it on an American ship just didn’t make any sense, so that is when you must remind yourself that it is based on real events and a true story of them trying to hijack the ship!
With nearly all of the scenes taking place on different ships you will wonder how it is going to keep you going throughout but the performance from Hanks is truly brilliant. It has been a while now since we have seen him in top form but this is certainly it! He is a fantastic actor and really can still engage and carry a film when it seems many other actors would totally fail.
You really do find yourself rooting for Phillips and wanting the Somali’s to really pay for their actions from the very start. A lot of their scenes are subtitled but also English used as well, which I think makes it even worse for Phillips and his crew as they really have no idea what is going on at all. So it is very interesting to know that all four of those actors are making their film debut is this film and really are very good in those roles as the pirates.
I would recommend this film as one of the first big films over the next few months as we draw closer to Oscar season and I am sure this is in with a shout for a few nominations! It just ticks so many of the boxes which could just see it being up there come February! Who can ignore Tom Hanks in a leading role like this?
It really does make you hold your breath at times as you wonder how long the struggle is going to last and what exactly is going to happen next especially when the Navy gets involved. So if you are having doubts about this one, I am sure it will manage to surprise you with how it keeps you engaged from start to finish. Yes it takes some getting going, but stick with it!
