Captain Phillips

My Grade:  A+

Tom Hanks has been nominated for 5 Oscars and has won twice (Forrest Gump and Philadelphia). Chances are he’ll add another notch to that Oscar belt this award season because of his breathtaking performance in Captain Phillips. The film is more than just a stellar performance by Hanks, though. This is just an engrossing film that will be the fastest 134 minutes of your life.

Captain Phillips starts off a bit slow for my tastes. It leaves time for you to get to know Phillips (Tom Hanks) and his family life, though, which certainly helps you care about him as the story continues to amp up the intensity. Once he’s finally on the Maersk Alabama (a U.S. Container Ship... an “unarmed freighter” as Phillips calls it), he’s already in anti-piracy mode because he knows his route takes him right through the heart of pirate infested waters. He locks down security (which is a great way to show off the intricacies of the boat which would all be used later), and even runs drills. Little does he know that the drill would quickly become a real-life situation. The pirates are already moving on him.

Apart from Hanks’ acting, a huge reason why this film shines is because of its exploration of the antagonist, pirate captain Muse (a downright terrifying performance from newcomer Barkhad Abdi). He’s not just a greedy pirate. He is much more developed than that. He’s disrespected among his peers but has more courage than any of them. He also refuses to give up, even when the odds are stacked impossibly high against him. It almost makes you root for him... almost. 

I knew that the hijacking would be an intense scene but I didn’t know that the film would only increase the tension more and more from the hijacking until the epic conclusion. Paul Greengrass (director) never lets up. He combines the intense character drama with very tight, realistic, and gripping military ops to bring about a satisfying climax that almost leaves you exhausted from being so engrossed in the story for so long. He even weaves in conflict among the bad guys and a message about globalization... the film is like an onion (or parfait, if you ask Donkey from Shrek):  it has layers.

To say a little more about the acting, Hanks starts the film with little in the way of emotional meat. So, at first, I was wondering why he chose this role. Then, as the film continued, I saw the massive arc he portrays and Hanks gives a performance unlike any he’s ever given (even better than Castaway). But the standout is Barkhad Abdi as Muse, the de facto leader of the pirate crew. This is his first credited film and he actually lived in Somalia until he was seven. I think he may have actually been on a few Somalian Pirate ships back then... he was that convincing. I heard that in an interview, Tom Hanks said that Abdi (and the other actors playing his pirate captors) were terrifying. If you can scare a legend like Tom Hanks with your performance, you deserve more roles.

Overall, Captain Phillips is a gripping thriller featuring stellar performances, edge-of-your-seat intensity, a layered examination of its real-life material, and even a message. It’s award-worthy work and Paul Greengrass’s best. See it as soon as you can and be wowed.