Review of The Finest Hours (2016) by Greg C — 30 Jan 2016

A boy, a girl, and a heroic story well told. There are no real surprises or twist. Nor is this a mindless frenetic comic based chase. This is just a story based on a real rescue. Chris Pine does an excellent job as a hero who is less bombastic than his other famous roles. He stretches those acting muscles a bit. As the other male lead, played Casey Affleck, does his "thing" which just happens to be just about right here. Our female lead Holiday Grainger gets a few good lines to suggest that she is a strong female character, who does indeed travel an arc. That is the arc of a loved one learning to be left behind when their husband/wife/partner/significant other has gone off to face mortal danger. Otherwise her character doesn't have much to do.

The visuals here are quite nice, with 3D work I find to be subtly pleasant. I wonder how this foundering at sea epic might have fared, had there not been an earlier movie called Titanic.

There are a number of notable mentions in the supporting character tier. I always find Ben Foster to be magnetic. I was pleased to see Abraham Benrubi, who in another life played Jerry, my favorite admissions desk jockey on E.R. I did not previous know the work of Graham McTavish (Scottish you think?), but his tough guy is pretty good.