On April 8, 2009, four armed teenage Somali pirates boarded and seized control of a cargo ship around 250 nautical miles from the coast of Somalia. After a series of violent encounters, they left in a lifeboat with the captain, Richard Phillips of New England, as a hostage. This true story is the basis of the factual, intense, and thoughtful Captain Phillips, the new film by the gifted Paul Greengrass, whom I count among my ten to fifteen favorite directors and whose previous credits include The Bourne Supremacy, United 93, and The Bourne Ultimatum. At this point in his career, Greengrass' interests and stylistic tactics are well established, and they are present again here. His darting hand-held camera coupled with rapid-fire, rhythmic editing reveals situations through closely observed details and gestures rather than from afar, and, reminiscent of the documentary and television-news worlds from which the director springs forth, there is a sense the camera is responding to the events of the storyline on the fly, racing to capture important moments before they are gone. The vérité indebted aesthetic results in a high level of verisimilitude rare in big-budget studio pictures and also intensifies the suspense tenfold.

With this particular film, there is a built-in fascination due to the subject, even in the early, nonviolent scenes depicting Phillips and his crew preparing the ship in Oman, considering charts and maps, practicing security measures in anticipation of traveling in a pirate populated sea, etc., a sense of inevitable doom encircling their casual, lived-in routine. The most provocative and rewarding gambit, though, is to portray both the American seamen and the Somali pirates with sympathy. There is, of course, almost no doubt who are the protagonists and who are the antagonists when unarmed men on the job are threatened and abducted at gunpoint, but the film is conscious of the desperation, frustration, hunger, and poverty which led the African fishermen astray as contrasted with the the potential for upward mobility and the outsize military might represented by the United States. There is a potent social conscience at play alongside and beneath the blow-by-blow, armrest-clenching action and drama, a fact rendered crystal clear by two authentic and award worthy performances: one by Tom Hanks, grounded and touching as a man trying his best to remain focused amidst chaos and physical torment, and the other by auspicious newcomer Barkhad Abdi as Muse, the gaunt, nervous, and, despite his performance of ready-to-spill-blood menace, ultimately humane leader of the pirates.

A

Do the sailors aboard the USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) (I think a different Arleigh Burke-class destroyer plays it in the film) get much screen time in the film or is it mostly focused on Hanks/the Pirates until the action scenes commence?

They are given a solid amount of screen time. The film fairly frequently cuts between the Bainbridge and the lifeboat in its second half, even before the Navy SEALs enter the picture.

Great. I have friends that were on the ship at the time (and one there now). Looking forward to the film. Good reivew.

Incredibly well-done and riveting with an absolutely phenomenal performance from Tom Hanks. I definitely think he deserves an Oscar nomination and possibly a win, if only for his last few scenes alone. So gut-wrenching. The actors playing the Somalis were great as well. A-

No surprise from one of the leading propagandists of our time...“Captain Phillips”: A Disturbing Celebration Of American Military Power

I disagree with a lot of this. Muse, the leader of the four-man Somali crew, is just as rich a character as Phillips. And he claims the film is casting the Somali characters as "unmedicated hyperactive children" because they show a variety of emotions and responses. I prefer a slightly simpler description: human beings.

And this is in the eye of the beholder, but I do not believe the film is celebrating the might of the U.S. military so much as simply depicting it. Not once did I sense any type of gung-ho, "HA! These Somalis are going to get it real good for screwing with the U.S. of A, baby!" message. The film is anxious and mournful.

I liked it. Loved seeing ScanEagle on screen.

better than gravity

Yes, but this is also true of Beautiful Creatures, The Last Stand, and World War Z.

Riveting and superbly made. Tom Hanks gives one of his best performances in years here. A really human, grounded thriller. A-

Hanks' performance at the end of this film is some of the best acting he's ever done.

I assume Hanks is a virtual lock for a Best Actor nom, right?

Strangely, this film, a big-budget American production, is much more interested in the humanity of the Somalis than a Danish film with a similar theme released this year, A Hijacking. Which is not intended as a jab toward A Hijacking, which is a fascinating and tense film with a particular interest in the response of the corporate figures at home to a situation endangering their blue-collar sailors, but I bet many people would instantly assume the studio financed star vehicle would be the one to portray the Somalis as one-dimensional menaces and "the other."

I will be very surprised if he's not nominated.

Fantastic. The tension remains all the way through. Best movie of 2013 so far. 4.5/5

Captain Phillips is exactly the kind of thriller I've come to expect from director Paul Greengrass in the wake of United 93 and the Bourne movies: visceral, taut, and very emotionally involving. It's a more focused and more effective effort than his somewhat underrated 2010 film Green Zone, and it does an excellent job of keeping the tension and the stakes high despite the fact that the outcome is known to anyone who heard the news about the real event in 2009. Even though there's relatively little onscreen violence (and most of it happens quickly), the threat of harm hangs in the air throughout the proceedings, giving the audience a sense of the dread its titular hero went through. Speaking of said hero, the film also boasts the best performance from Tom Hanks in quite some time. In a leading capacity, Hanks arguably hasn't been this good since 2000's Cast Away. He does a tremendous job of capturing Phillips' humanity, fear, and ultimate determination to survive and return to his family. Those last ten minutes in particular are gut-wrenching, and probably put an iron-clad lock on his candidacy for a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars. I wasn't as impressed with others at the performance from Barkhad Abdi as the lead pirate, but he does a very solid job of capturing his character's fears and doubts about competency, and something has to be said for the fact that he holds his own when sharing the screen with Hanks. The real story was one that lent itself easily to a good movie, and the product here - while not quite as immensely satisfying as it could be (although it moves quickly, some of the time could have been shaved from it) - is a survival story that delivers quite thoroughly as an intense, involving, and ultimately uplifting experience.

A-

There's tons to like in this. Very impressed by Greengrass, the ship, lifeboat, sea settings are just used perfectly for tension. Loved how used to the pirates you get by the end of the film. Really good action filmmaking. Hanks is really great once he gets in the lifeboat and becomes helpful for the sake of it

At the same time, I can't put my finger on why this isn't a classic, or a modern day answer to Dog Day Afternoon. Is it the generic Seal team? Not showing enough after the rescue? Something little like how telling Phillips to sit in Seat 15 and wear a uniform and the pirates not getting mad about it (not that it really affected the climax, but still). Going to have to think about why I thought it was better in the middle watching it, than after I left the theatre

No, this was perfect. Showing anything after Hanks being brought to the doctor would have lessened the impact of that scene, and leaving that as our our final impression is a bold and powerful move. Do we really need to see anything else?

Anyway, as thrilling and superbly crafted as this was, I find that I appreciate more than I love it. Still, nice to see Hanks trying again. He was outstanding.

Yeah that last scene with Hanks is unbelievable. It's arguably the most tension and intense of the entire movie. I'd be surprised if he didn't win the award. Nothing has come close this year. Best movie of the year for me. Fall has certainly made up for a lack of really strong films this year.

For the trouble they’ve provided, Somali pirate attacks are great material for film. The setting and tension is freely provided.

Captain Phillips largely lives up to that promise. Paul Greengrass does his best work to date. The shaky-cam is thankfully reduced to “not distracting” levels, leaving only his excellent tension-creating and action skills.

The film beautifully uses its setting – the ship, lifeboat and the sea. Those are the only places to go for the majority of this running time, thus there’s no escape. For either the pirates or the hostages.

Over the course of the film, one grows used to not only these visuals and Phillips, but the pirates themselves. Wisely, they’re made out to be bullishly emotional. Which makes them both more believable as humans and more empathetic. Somehow, the pirates end up likable enough that you want them to at least survive and go to jail. Phillips seems to react that way as well, offering them first aid and his advice about surrendering.

For Phillips the pirates created their own doom, by not just boating way with the 30 thousand. He’s holding down anger that they’ll likely cost him his life. Yet despite that, he tries to steer them towards surviving anyways. Because they’re still people. Hanks’ performance shines most in these moments, trying to help despite everything.

The SEAL team’s role is mostly standard, as action delivery devices. That’s not to blame Greengrass, as limited the SEALs allows Phillips and the pirates to work their magic. No need to over stuff a film.

If I had a reservation, it’s that the climax explodes in a familiar way. Once again the true story limitations make this hard to avoid. But if I had to put my finger on why Captain Phillips does so much great but doesn’t come off as a classic, it’s that the ending underwhelmed me after so much build-up.

Captain Phillips is an excellent action thriller and will be one of the year’s best.

Amazing.

Everybody is saying that Tom Hanks will be nominated and possibly win (deservedly so), and the Somali lead has a shot (also deservedly so). But what about the film itself. Will it get nominated for BP?

I think it should. The movie is very well made and the ending with Tom Hanks is fantastic. The supporting acting is all good too. The movie is very intense.

A- (like some, there is something missing to make it an classic, though that could change on repeat viewings). Still the best movie I've seen so far this year.

I believe it is guaranteed a Best Picture nomination. The only major nomination I am not sure is 100 percent sealed yet is Best Director just because of competition, but Greengrass is a previous nominee (for United 93) and is definitely a top-tier contender.