Review of Captain Phillips (2013) by Python2000 — 03 Jan 2014

The master of shaky cam Paul Greengrass directs this tense, exciting version of Richard Phillips true story.

It all gets off to a good start, the main characters Captain Phillips and the Somalian pirates are set up. We know why there doing what there doing and how there paths cross. But it's all just the build up to when the pirates get onto the ship, a very good build up though.

One of my favorite things about the movie which I only noticed once it had finished, is that instead of the pirates killing crew members left, right and center and the crew members attacking the pirates with makeshift weapons (which is how the movie would have been if Michael Bay was the director) the pirates gain access to the ship and try to find out where everyone is and let Captain Phillips know whose boss realistic things. The whole movie has this tone, there aren't any huge explosions and bloody gunfights with big body counts. It all stays realistic.

However the main attraction of the movie which is why, I think, it's so memorable and being hailed as one of the best movies of the year so far is Tom Hanks. He gives the performance of a lifetime (yes even better than Toy Story). I'm talking Heath Ledger as The Joker standard, now you understand how good he is. Every single second of screen time with him in it is amazing and masterfully acted. I would say that he deserves the Oscar for this year, but I haven't seen Gravity yet. Seriously though Tom Hanks acting in the last scene of the movie is phenomenal and I will buy the DVD just to see that again.

Captain Phillips is one of my favorite movies of the year so far a must see.