So Fall 2013 is shaping up to be a pretty great time to go to the movies. Opening a week after the tense, gripping, and highly recommended Gravity, Paul Greengrass' Captain Phillips is almost as tense and gripping, and just as good of a movie.
I have to be honest that I wasn't looking forward to this. Frankly, I was kind of underwhelmed by the trailer. I guess it really wasn't so bad of a trailer, but considering it was the same exact trailer played before most of the movies I've watched since May, it grated on my nerves after a while. Still, I changed my mind about seeing it after reading some good reviews.
And I'm glad I did.
Almost from the beginning, it was a very intense thriller of a movie. Whether it was Tom Hanks trying to stay one step ahead of Barkhad Abdi and his group of pirates, or the grasp of the US Navy slowly closing around the desperate pirate captain and his hostage, my eyes were glued to the screen. This would be an achievement in a film that was wholly fictional, but even more so when you know what happened.
I really appreciated the way the film shows the similarities between Hanks and Abdi. Both have pressures from above, and are really just functionaries doing their best in a competitive business. Both expect their crew to do their jobs, and are very good and adapting to rapidly changing situations. Of course, one is a veteran captain who is well paid and well fed, while the other is relatively new at this, and is doing it to keep from starvation.
There is no doubt who the "good guys" in the movie are*, and that is fine. Still, the pirates, especially Muse, are not portrayed as sniveling villains. Even if you are rooting against his interests, you can't help but feel sorry for the predicament he finds himself in, and sympathize with how in over his head he is.
I highly recommend you see this film, in theaters if you can. I saw it on the IMAX screen and while impressive, is probably not as important to the experience as it was for Gravity.
*It's not the pirates.
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