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Review by davidehrlich ★★★★½

A macro-economic horror story in the guise of an exceptionally harrowing hostage thriller, Paul Greengrass’ “Captain Phillips” dramatizes a 2009 incident in which a small band of Somali pirates hijacked an American cargo ship, a siege that has since become emblematic of the recent rise in similar armed attacks. Anchored by a compellingly candid titular performance by Tom Hanks (his best on-screen work since “Catch Me if You Can”), Greengrass’ latest recreation of recent history’s most vividly violent events is not – as its awkward opening moments might first suggest – just another Hollywood celebration of American bravado at the expense of faceless third-world foreigners. On the contrary, “Captain Phillips” is not only a masterful action movie that breathlessly and…

5

I am baffled as to why an Oscar nomination has eluded Tom Hanks for his portrayal of Captain Phillips.

This does not sit well with me. Hanks was remarkable.

Review by Matt Singer ★★★★½ Liked

Amazing. And what a contrast with those summer blockbusters that offer "thrills" where computer avatars punch each other through buildings while untold thousands die just outside of every frame. Here, there's only maybe 20 characters, but every single life matters. Every single one is important. And Hanks' performance in the last scene is stunning. Kind of blown away.

24

There is a moment early on in Captain Phillips when the American captain and Somali pirate leader look out through their binoculars at the same time and end up staring right at each other. Captain Phillips immediately recoils, looking visibly shaken. But the pirate continues to stare.

A while later, when the pirates take over the ship, the pirate leader tells Phillips: look at me. Look at me. I'm the captain now.

And that's when you realize that the central focus of the film isn't Tom Hanks, and it isn't a bunch of Americans being all noble and brave. The core of the film, the central energy, is the four young Somali pirates and their desperation, their thirst to prove…

3

It’s comforting to know that 20 billion dollars of American defense spending is enough to barely thwart four random bad guys in a lifeboat.

Not sure why you would, but if you ever doubt the acting ability of Tom Hanks, just that the last fifteen minutes of this movie exist.

Review by freddurstskid ★★★★½ Liked

Captain Phillips is one of those films where you just have complete anxiety the whole time.

1

Tom Hanks takes a backseat to let Barkhad Abdi be the true star of the film, and then closes the movie with some of the best acting in his entire career.

2

When will people learn that traveling with Tom Hanks is the worst idea ever.

Review by Josh Lewis ★★★★ Liked

there's only one way that working people pitted against the desperate and impoverished both by industry machinery and violent circumstance is going to end... lots has already been written about how excellent hanks is here but the way his face captures his thoughts & feelings while he's forced to make make strategic calculations and perform for his captors simultaneously feels truly monumental. especially the way it adds to my favorite note greengrass touches on here: procedure dictating we carry weights and responsibilities for events (and realities) way out of our control.

2

I think it's a serious, probably fatal miscalculation to make this "about" Captain Phillips as opposed to the Somalis. It forces Greengrass to abandon his already kinda trite "take this job and shove it, Capitalism amirite" thesis in favor of a survival thriller, which frankly fizzles the second the Navy shows up. What follows from that point is the story of the world's largest flyswatter (which is his point, I know, I get it; sending aircraft carriers to knock over a fruit stand). so you're just sitting there counting down until the SEALs rock and roll, which of course they eventually do, making this rather dramatically inert. On the other hand it at least declines to Hollywood-ize the narrative (cf.…

36

Tom Hanks has still got it.

Captain Phillips is a fantastic movie. The pacing was perfect. Never was I bored or wondering when it was going to end. It was intense as hell through out the entire 2 hours 15 minutes. This reminded me a lot of Zero Dark Thirty. However, Captain Phillips is much better in my opinion. Unlike ZDT this was a thrill ride during the entire run time. When I saw Zero Dark Thirty I was struggling to stay awake; it was just totally boring. Even during the final raid scene, I was underwhelmed. The final 15 minutes of this....WOW, now that's how it's done! My eyes and ears were glued to the screen during this movie. Major credit to the guys who played the Somalian Pirates; they were so impressive and believable. Tom Hanks proved he is still one heck of an actor. Well done Mr. Greengrass, awesome movie!

1

59/100

Like most movies based on real-life news stories, this feels fundamentally shapeless to me—ably executed, for the most part (though the drive to the airport with Special Useless Guest Star Catherine Keener is easily one of the year's worst scenes), but with no dramatic perspective on the events it's re-enacting. Hanks' depiction of post-traumatic shock, for example, is an astonishing technical exercise, as well as a much-needed corrective to standard-issue Hollywood machismo, but there's no sense that the film is building toward that moment, or that it's a culmination of any kind. Lip service is paid to the Somali hijackers' grim lives and lack of alternatives, which is better than nothing, but the movie isn't really about them either. It isn't about anything, apart from "so that happened." Fairly gripping within that limitation, but we're talking competence here, not greatness. The latter requires imagination in some form.