by Maxwell
Meyers
Above: Tom Hanks as Richard Phillips
Who didn't hear
the story about the Somali pirates that took over a ship and the heroism of one
Captain Richard Phillips? The answer is
virtually no one, not least because the story is so incredible that it doesn't
seem possible. In fact, it sounds like a
movie that some Hollywood writer would think up, beginning with the simple
question, "What would you do if your boat was taken over by pirates?"
Which brings us to the best picture
nominee "Captain Phillips." Directed
by Paul Greengrass (of "Bourne" series fame), the movie stars America’s
favorite actor, Tom Hanks, as the title character/real life captain, and
Barkhad Abdi, in his debut role, as the leader of the Somali pirate gang. They’re impressive, and I definitely think that
the strongest points of the film have to be the acting. In fact, Mr. Abdi's performance is so powerful
that it garnered him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor (he’s
also the one who gets to utter the memorable line, “I’m the captain now”).
Mr. Hanks, of course, was not granted a nomination, if only because the
two-time winner was in a very stacked category this year and ultimately there weren’t
enough nominations to go around. It’s
truly a shame because the things that make Mr. Abdi's performance so great
directly correlate with Mr. Hanks’ performance.
In fact, together they have a chemistry that is electric, which is why I
do not entirely agree with the Academy’s decision to nominate Mr. Abdi and not Mr.
Hanks (although who doesn’t love the fact that Mr. Abdi is a limo driver turned
Academy Award nominated actor?).
Of course, “Captain Phillips” does a
lot of things right outside the acting categories, which explains why it is up
for the best sound mixing, sound editing, and best editing Oscars. Still, I will be honest—I have a hard time
distinguishing the difference between sound editing and mixing. But as far as editing goes, this movie hits
it right on the head and editor Christopher Rouse does an amazing job going between
scenes with the pirates and scenes with the crew members and the navy SEALs
coming to the crew’s rescue.
Still, there are some things wrong
with “Captain Phillips.” It does have
the feel of a true-life event brought to you by the man who made some “Bourne”
movies (which is not exactly a wonderful thing). Plus, there are some facts in this movie that
Phillips’ actual crew has said aren’t that accurate and more problematically, the
third act of the film (where the pirate gang and Captain Phillips are on the
life raft) drags a little. It's mostly
Phillips telling the pirates they aren't going to get away with this and
they’re never going to win—all that classic dialogue that we have all heard
before.
That said, I won’t deny that by the
time the film had concluded, I’d shed a few tears, especially because Mr.
Greengrass does a fantastic job in making you feel for Phillips and the
struggles he endures. But at the end of
the day, “Captain Phillips” is only alright—nothing terrible, nothing truly
great. Because of that, I doubt that it is
going to take home best picture, though if you are looking for a taut thriller,
a true-life story, and you enjoyed the “Bourne” series, then this is your
movie.
I give Captain Phillips a B-.
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