“Captain Phillips” is based on the true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the hijacking of the US carrier ship “MV Maersk Alabama” in 2009.
From Oman, the crew of the MV Maersk Alabama were fully aware of pirates in the region, yet still decide to travel near Somalian waters through the Gulf of Aden towards Mombasa. When the ship is hijacked by Somalian pirates lead by theircaptain, “Muse” played by Barkhad Abdi, Phillips must be wary of his actions in order to keep his crew safe and unharmed, even if it means throwing his life on the line for the sake of others.
I know that Tom Hanks is the poster boy for this film, but he didn’t impress me. I am not denying his talent. I always trust his choices with films. But it wasn’t Hanks that wowed me, it was Barkhad Abdi with his portrayal of Muse. Even though the character was aware he was doing something wrong, you couldn’t entirely hate him as you could see the pain in his eyes and the limited choices that he had being born in a third world country, struggling to survive.
Although I understand this film is based on factual events, I personally found the character of Captain Phillips very wreckless with his decision to choose to take the ship and its crew on a dangerous shipping route in the first place, knowing that they were alone and that there would be pirates about in the waters. Had he taken a safer but longer route, this hijacking may have never happened. But that’s just my opinion.
Captain Phillips is a film that will hold your attention. With great acting and an interesting story based on truth, I do believe that if you went to see this film, you would enjoy it as it’s got a lot of great things to offer audiences (if this is your kind of film). However, although I personally liked this film, by no means is this film one of the best of the 2013.