Movie Review 42: Captain Phillips

Welcome Back!

Just got back from the theatre, first time since Gravity last week. This time Captain Phillips was up. Was a lot like the movie 'A Hijacking' that my family sponsored at the Film Fest this year. I'll compare them later.

but for now, Review! i'll avoid spoilers for the most part, but be warned, some might eek in.

MOVIE REVIEW: Captain Phillips

Pros:
Paul Greengrass knows how to create tension. He's proven his worth with The second and third Bourne movies, and the very underrated United 93. He brings the same tension to this. The tension starts about 20 minutes into it, and never lets up till the climax. it was all very well orchestrated and the story moved off of the boat, it never got stale and kept going.

Moving on, the Best thing in the movie was undoubtedly Tom Hanks. He is the best actor in the business. Hanks was perfect as Captain Phillips, he brought an air of control to the early parts of the boatjacking. and then became totally helpless as it became a Kidnapping. You felt everything, and you really wanted him to live. only a great actor can really bring you in and keep you riveted with such a subtle performance. I'm predicting an Oscar Nomination.

The other actor I'd love to see in real life is the guy who played the character Muse. (no not because I love his name) Muse is the leader of the Pirate group. he's a really sympathetic character and as the movie goes on he gets more and more desperate, leading him to lose his sympathy. When he goes onto the Navy boat it was one of the best 'clash of culture' scenes i've seen, seeing this guy who had so much power at the beginning being treated like a child. it was fascinating. i'm really curious what the actor is like in real life. it's like Quevenzhane Wallis in Beasts of the southern wilds, I think its just a person playing themselves and nothing else. yet he was fascinating.

Cons:
There were many points in the movie where the heroes could have overthrown the Pirates. They never took advantage of any of them, well, almost any of them, they took it once. to me the movie almost felt hellbent on getting the five of them into the claustrophobic confines of the lifeboat.

Comparisons:
A Hijacking had a very similar story, ultimately Captain phillips beat it in most cases. the tension was better, the acting was better, the change in location and the larger budget really helped. overall I liked A Hijacking, but Captain phillips was a much better movie all around.

FINAL VERDICT: 90
Great acting, Great pacing, and tons of tension.



So theres that, another brilliant acting job by tom Hanks. now to turn on another movie, I plan to finish up that Ghibli collection this weekend, so Subscribe to me to stay up to date

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