Review of Captain Phillips (2013) by Kyle W — 17 Aug 2014

Essentially "Gravity in the Water," this lean thriller from Paul Greenglass is suspenseful and tense, with a laser-like precision and focus that gets the heart pounding no less than ten minutes into the film.

It's thrilling in a way we wish all movies could be, and as if that were not enough it's elevated by screenwriter Billy Ray's decision to focus on the relationship between Captain Phillips (Tom Hanks) and the Somali pirate captain Muse (Barkhad Abdi).

Abdi is heartbreaking and terrifying as Muse, in a true breakout performance. But for all the things that are so insanely good about this movie, Hanks runs away with it in a performance of such scale, depth, and nuance that you can't help but wonder how he got snubbed at the Oscars.

Greengrass is wise to keep the camera trained on him for the final 3 harrowing minutes, containing perhaps some of the best acting on film in recent memory.