Review of The Finest Hours (2016) by Sean H — 04 Dec 2016

For those of you not in the know, January and February at the movies is a dumping ground of sorts. As the summer movie season keeps starting earlier and earlier. This year one could argue that it starts March 18th with the next Divergent movie and then runs until the end of August where we start to see some awards season pretenders that the studios initially thought might bring home some awards but ultimately dropped too early to be considered. Award season runs late October to the end of the year leaving January and February as the time to dump the crap onto us. But the studios are getting smarter, recognizing a window of opportunity to drop a great film in the bad months. For example, The Lego Movie came out on February 7th, 2014 and went on to make $257 million in the US alone. The Finest Hours will not do that. But it should warrant your attention and consideration as a great family film. A Disney film that deftly blends action and romance while celebrating the unsung heroes of the US Armed Forces, The Coast Guard.

Chris Pine is Bernie Webber, the Coast Guardsman tasked with braving the seas off the coast of Massachusetts in some downright untenable sailing conditions so he can attempt to go find half of the second of two oil tankers that split in the ocean in the same night. He is joined by a very subdued Ben Foster, Kyle Gallner and John Magaro. Meanwhile on the ship split in two and separated from its captain the crew is led by Casey Affleck as they make do to avoid sinking to a certain death in hopes the Coast Guard can come and rescue them. On land is Eric Bana who sent Webber out and Webber's love interest Miriam (Holliday Grainger), a feisty woman who takes no nonsense from anyone.

Given that it's a Disney film, you know you're going to get a good story with some money behind it, $80 million to be precise, for the effects and stunts. Though rated PG-13, that is because of the intense nature of the subject matter and a smidgen of blood spilled when men take on moving parts in ships and lose. The film is enjoyable without being amazing but a nice distraction if you're looking to get out of the house this weekend.

I would have liked it more if it didn't have a certain manipulative feel to it. The ending scene is contrived as a film about a boat rescue in a town full of sailors has to be led to action by the afraid of boats girlfriend. Furthermore, the crew felt a bit overly racially integrated for 1950's America. I have to wonder if that is a marketing ploy to attract a bigger audience as the military had just been desegregated in 1948 and The Civil Rights Act was in 1964. The film takes place in February 1952. Additionally, as the rescue takes place at night there was some action bits that felt under lit and were harder to see as a result.

This Queen was reasonably entertained for a January released film. 3 out of 5 rainbows.

1 rainbow - How did this get funded?

2 rainbows - You might find something of interest here but unlikely.

3 rainbows - Serves as a useful and entertaining enough distraction as a matinee.

4 rainbows - Stop reading this review and find a theater showing this film now!

5 rainbows - I'll need to find a spot for this in my Top 100 list. Absolutely flawless.