Captain Phillips - Attacco in mare aperto

"Captain Phillips" is the Hollywood retelling of the true-to-life 2009 harrowing story of an American container vessel Maersk Alabama (with Captain Richard Phillips at the helm) being held hostage by Somali pirates. The screenplay by Billy Ray was based on the novel "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea" written by Captain Richard Phillips himself.

Playing the titular character, Tom Hanks is what this film is all about. He starts off simply, playing Capt. Phillips as a family man and seasoned seaman on a routine delivery. However when the pirates came, you see him transform into a cool-under-pressure leader and shrewd tactician, matching wits with these desperate aggressors. In the last five minutes, Hanks would give us an unexpected display of emotion which may well deliver him another Oscar for Best Actor.

The four Somali-American first-time actors playing the pirates are a very realistic bunch. They play with wild-eyed and feral intensity, really scary. Barkhad Abdi plays their skinny foolhardy leader Muse, engaging Phillips in a deadly chess game, toe-to-toe. Faysal Ahmed plays the hot-headed Najee, who was the loose cannon of the group. Barkhad Abdirahman plays the young recruit Bilal, getting himself a baptism of fire on his first time out.

When I saw the name director Paul Greengrass in the credits, I understood why the sense of tension and urgency were so well-conveyed. This was that familiar sense of excitement we felt in his previous films, like the last two Jason Bourne films or that suspenseful 9/11 drama "United 93". He really knows how to make military operations exciting on screen, as he did for the Army in "Green Zone" and the Navy SEALS in this film.

I have to admit I was on the verge of getting seasick with the shakiness of the camera, but luckily I held on despite the two-hour length of the film set at sea.

Overall, this is a different sort of adventure drama, with a topic not too commonly tackled in a mainstream film. We hear of these events on the news, but this film brings us right in the middle of one. We will feel the tension building as the pirates were approaching. We will feel the fear when the pirates were on board. We will feel the desperation and the frustration of being trapped in the middle of the open ocean with no help immediately forthcoming. If you are up for such a realistic experience, then this film is for you.

That went a lot higher than my expectations. I was thinking an okay movie, but that was more than just okay. Truly impressive powerful thriller.

The movie's strength points could be summed up:

1. Greengrass's thrillers are really fine, I like his The Bourne Ultimatum with his shaky camera tricks. And here he is doing it again maybe with different techniques. As a thriller, Greengrass managed to make this movie get on your nerves and put so much tension, and that's a success.

2. The Somali crew.. Now, that's some serious impressive sh*t. Some Somali dudes you have never seen their faces in a movie before come and make such spectacular performances, that's something you should admire. It made the movie so believable that you'd sometimes forget it's just a movie. Barkhad Abdi has made a huge step in his career with this movie and that was crowned by his nomination for the best actor in a supporting role. He probably won't get it, but he deserved it.

3. Tom Hanks is just a really fine actor. He was driving the whole thing with his convincing performance. I still can't believe he got my tearing in that scene, or let's just say crying. Greengrass has taken him to squeeze some fine acting skills.

4. Fair screenplay that didn't make you forget that justice should be done, no matter how the conditions the person lives in, but it also pushed the eyes to take a look into the world that would produce such people as pirates.

"It was supposed to be easy. I take over ship, get paid, no one gets hurt." In 2009 a Somali named Muse (Abdi) is in trouble and needs to get money for his boss fast or face the consequences. His plan is to hijack a cargo ship and hold it ransom until he gets his money. When he boards a ship captained by Rich Phillips (Hanks) he thinks he found his answer to his problems, but things only get worse for all involved. This is a true story. It's always more fun to watch a movie that is also a true story and even better when you see one that you remember the events when it was happening. As far as the movie goes it starts off pretty slow but grows more and more tense as it goes on. As great an actor as Tom Hanks is I found myself thinking that this is really a part that many people could pull off. Then I watched the last 20 minutes and realized why they got Hanks. Much like the movie Apollo 13, when you watch a movie that you know how it ends but still end up shedding a tear it is because of great filmmmaking. This falls into that category. A movie that builds momentum the entire time. Starts off slow but by the end you are hoping for more. I liked it. Overall, tense and makes you think about both sides of the event and if the pirates were really evil or not. I give it a B+.

Captain Phillips is a biographical drama thriller movie directed by Paul Greengrass and stars Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Michael Chernus and Faysal Ahmed.

The best thing particularly I liked the most was the authenticity and realistic approach by the director and it will be like that you are watching a real abduction scene.

Tom Hanks again did a commendable job in the role of an abducted captain. Support cast was also impressive. Background music is another strong aspect of the movie and supports the screenplay.

Screenplay is gripping and will keep you on the edge of your seats. Direction is good. Another strong point of the movie is it's beautifully cinematography.

The movie should be on the list of every movie lovers. In my opinion one of the movie with very close to the reality.

What a stunning film - the imminent threat of deadly violence tempered with the tragic circumstances that drive people to such desperate actions made for a very human story.

If Hanks is nominated for an Oscar for this, then Barkhad Abdi deserves a nomination too, because their scenes together were electric - never once did Abdi appear the junior party, every bit Hank's equal as two cunning foes trying to outfox one another.

The best lines in the film were perhaps when Phillips beseeched of Muse: "Surely there's something other than fishing and kidnapping people you could do?"

To which Muse replied, sombrely: "In America, maybe".

It's a must see, the best film I've seen this year.