Captain Philips: Somali Pirates, Navy Seals and Dangerous Seas.

 

 

“Captain Philips can you hear me? Captain Philips can you hear me?” echoes over the radio in this tense, emotionally charged feature from Paul Greengrass, the director of movies such as the Bourne Supremacy/Ultimatum and United 93. The story follows the real life events of Captain Richard Philips who was taken hostage by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean during the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama in 2009 adapted by Billy Ray from the novel - A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEAL’s and Dangerous Days at Sea which was co-written by Richard Philips himself. Paul Greengrass is no stranger to tackling real life events on screen after his successful portray of the events which occurred aboard Flight 93 which was hijacked during the September 11 attacks along with his work on the action packed Bourne movies certainly made Paul Greengrass the perfect choice to bring this adaptation to life. I hadn’t heard about the story before I saw the movie so I had no idea how the events would unfold but it’s certainly a nail biting finish.

The story begins in parallel circumstances with Captain Richard Philips saying goodbye to his wife as he prepares to board a flight to the destination of the Maersk Alabama vessel while the audience are also introduced to Muse a lower ranking member of the Somalia pirating crew in his home village. A Somalia convoy arrives in the village to declare they need to stop wasting time and go to work; the leader of the group selects his team which includes Muse as they prepare to set sail looking for a target. Philips has now arrived at the docking yard which I believe was based in Yemen, before Philips boards the vessel he already begins to show concerns and cautions regarding an imminent threat during their journey to Mombasa. After the ship sets sail, Philips orders a drill test for his unprepared crew members who seem unconcerned regarding any potential threat. The crew members are untrained and unarmed of any weaponry to defend themselves, should an attack occur. The Somalia pirates edge nearer with their attack on two separate docking boats, one which is lead by the leader and the other lead by Muse. Captain Philips spots the boats approaching and immediately begins to use protocol but the correspondent ashore is uninterested claiming it’s probably just fishermen, requiring Philips to take matters into his own hands. Philips is luckily able to fend the first boat off but Muse continues to press on showing his bravery, determined to board the vessel but Philips is able to out smart him as Muse retreats. The Somalia pirates re-group in which Muse confronts the leader of the crew, calling him a coward and threatens him, taking over leadership of the crew in which they plan their next attack. The second attempt is a successful one as four of the pirates manage to board the ship in which they take Captain Philips hostage with the rest of his crew hidden away. “Look at me, I’m the Captain now” as Muse demonstrates not only his confidence but his intellect by not being so easily fooled by Captain Philips. From this moment forward the movie becomes a tense, thrill ride and a battle of intellect and wits between Captain Philips and Muse, both captains in their own right but both with different agendas. Philips wants to protect the safety of his crew by any means necessary while Muse wants to support his own crew’s future welfare “No Al Qaeda here, it’s just business” proclaims Muse. I won’t spoil the rest of the movie for you, because you’ll be on the edge of your seat. A lot of what I have spoke about is shown within the trailer, so I haven’t ruined anything major, there is still a few surprise and nerve wrecking moments.

Tom Hanks expertly plays Captain Philips which you’d expect no less from an actor of his experience and talent. Hanks is able to demonstrate bravery, leadership and intelligence to try and save not only his crew but himself in a humanised fashion. You believe it’s real because Tom Hanks makes you feel like it is especially his ending scene which was outstandingly played by Hanks. I’m sure that scene alone will seal him an Oscar nomination. Barkhad Abdi who plays Muse more then held his own against Tom Hanks in his film debut, showcasing his own confidence and believe in what he was doing along with an intelligence of his own to prove to Captain Philips he wasn’t just a regular pirate. Paul Greengrass does a great job building the intensity combined with the original score to add extra dramatic significance but overall I personally was underwhelmed by Captain Philips. I’m sure audiences will love the movie and I’m not one hundred percent sure how accurate the portrayal of events truly is. It’s an enjoyable above average action movie with a dramatic pulse. But in the end I personally felt there was nothing game changing or note worthy to truly highlight from the movie apart from Tom Hanks’ performance but I’m sure the Academy will love every second of it.

So how do I feel Captain Philips will do with the Academy? Well in my predictions last month I was unsure over the movie and now after viewing it myself, I’m still in two minds about it. United 93 only earned two Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Editing so I’m not entirely sure how’d they’ll response to Captain Philips. Tom Hanks is obviously loved enough to earn the film some recognition but how far can Tom Hanks take the movie, outside of himself? We’ll have to wait and see.

Oscar Potential

Best Picture

Best Director, Paul Greengrass
Best Actor in a Leading Role, Tom Hanks
Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Barkhad Abdi
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Sound Editing
Best Original Score