Review of The Finest Hours (2016) by Spangle — 05 Sep 2016

Nostalgic, moving, tearjerking, and thrilling, The Finest Hours still splits in two because of bad acting, writing, and an underdeveloped romance. Starring Chris Pine in a hit-and-miss performance, The Finest Hours features a lavishly shot 1950s America that makes you nostalgic for this bygone era of oil tankers and fishing communities, even if the tanker did split in two. From the music to the set design to the costume design, this film is the 1950s to a tee and benefits from it throughout.

Additionally, the special effects and rescue sequence are thoroughly thrilling, as are the scenes when the tanker initially suffers from trouble and then tries to save themselves. Here, Casey Affleck shines and is truly captivating as the hated man in the engine room forced into a position to try and save his beloved ship. Based on shore, however, Pine's struggles in acting are matched by a spotty performance Ben Foster and a downright bad and overacted from Eric Bana. To be fair though, the dialogue from the trio of writers leaves this men out to drown in a sea of nonsense. Fortunately, the film is thrilling and handles the disaster element well, which is what we all came to see.

On this front, the film is not just thrilling, but also incredibly moving and tearjerking, especially the ending sequence. Though I feel the romance is underdeveloped (we see them go on a single date and then it jumps three months with them engaged already...oh and then Holliday Grainger just annoys everyone at the Coast Guard), this does not diminish the chemistry between Pine and Grainger, which shines through in more intimate scenes. A film that could explore this chemistry more with more nuanced writing would be greatly appreciated.

Overall, The Finest Hours is a largely satisfying disaster film that suffers from acting and writing, but if that is not your concern, this one more than delivers the disastrous goods and provides good thrills and effects along the way.