Captain Phillips

Tom Hanks is one of the actors, i grew up watching in comedies mostly. In the 80´s he did some classic motion pictures like Big, and The Burbs. Suddenly in the 90´s he made a career change, with Philadelphia, playing a homosexual who finds out he have AIDS. If you have not seen Philadelphia, i suggest you go rent it. Since the millenium, Tom Hanks have tried many different character roles, in many different genres. And for each movie he takes on, he seem to fit in, no matter what kind of character he chooses. I have to be honest and say i did not expect to see him in Captain Phillips, a story based on the true events Maersk Alabama Hijacking in 2009. And that is why i am curious to see, if this critical praised motion picture, show a different side of Tom Hanks acting talents. Deep out in the ocean, does Captain Phillips deliver a solid thriller drama, or is this story way to big to be told in an honest way ?

Richard Phillips ( Tom Hanks ), is the Captain of the MV Maersk Alabama. As the ship takes off from the Port of Salalah in Oman, they are ordered to sail Gulf Of Aden to Mombasa. Captain Richard is worried about the rumours about Somali pirates, who are located in this area, as he arrange training exercise for the whole crew, to be prepared in case of emergency. Everything seems fine, until one day 2 boats with armed Somali pirates. They manage to escape, but Captain Philips inform the crew they need to be more alert. The next day, the Somali pirates are back, and this time they manage to board the ship. Armed with Ak-47´s, and they demand to get paid by America, everyone on the ship is in danger. Richard realise he need to find a way to get everyone in safety, and get help from the outside world.

Captain Phillips is a very intensive thriller drama. You might think it could be boring out in the ocean, when you only see boat scenes. But director Paul Greengrass is a very talented director at finding suspensful scenes, builded up with emotional tensions. Tom Hanks is brilliant as Captain Phillips, and show why he is such a legendary actor ( when he works with a talented director ). When it comes to the Somali pirates, leader of the gang Abdubali Muse, played by Barkhad Abdi, you can tell he really tried to show us how evil you can become, desperate for money. I really hope people take notice of Barkhad, he could be a new star, since he did this character so well. The real crew of MV Maersk says that the portrait of Captain Phillips is not correct. Maybe that is true, but i look form a different perspective, about the story itself and how vulnerable people can become, in a situation like this one. This is a really good motion picture, with a very solid story to tell. I will never travel to Gulf of Aden, there is no question about that.

Rating: DDDD