Captain Phillips (2013) Good Film, Great Story

Captain Phillips (2013) Scott Rudin

I think most of us remember the tension of the event when we first heard about the real life Captain Phillips story. The situation was dire and the event horrific, but we were all pulling for our soldiers and our country to come out on top. Most of the country was not privy to the details of the event until far after it had passed. Of course the movie was a little dramatized, but the event deserved some recognition and the movie covered it well.

The film itself was somewhat politically charged and the plot was fairly accurate from what I have read from the situation. There were so many things I liked from the movie. First the acting was great and the script was written well. During the majority of the film you are surprised with how well the Captain handles the situation that you forget that it happened in real life. You are astonished by the actions he took and how he was able to save the lives of his crew members. The crew in the beginning was very against him and showed a bit of resentment for his stern behavior. The horn of Africa really is an unsafe place and because of how many journeys they go on they may forget about the dangers.

If you have ever lived in a dangerous area you sometimes forget about the problems that can arise if things go wrong. In my younger years I lived in a ‘ghetto’ area and I remember there were a lot of places to avoid. Most of the drug dealers and gang members would leave me alone because I lived in the area, but sometimes there were problems with the drug deals and weapons would be drawn while I was walking home from school. Most of the time it was pretty safe, but some situations arise that you can’t prepare yourself for. I was never taken hostage, but when the Captain was, I could absolutely relate in certain ways of feeling unsafe in an unsafe situation because having weapons drawn on you can be terrifying.

Tom Hanks did a great job with the role and was able to accurately portray this character in this horrible situation. I feel like as Americans, we aggrandize ourselves in many situations. We like to talk as if we are the greatest nation on the earth because of the people that we have here in America. Some of them are great some of them are not, but when we see an average Joe outsmart terrorists from African nations and sacrifice his life over that of his crewmen you can really feel proud of our country.

As soon as the seals show up I was ready for them to do what they do best. They are merchants of death and every one of those pirates probably deserved death even though it is not my place to judge. I personally am displeased with the progress of many of these underdeveloped counties and it is easy to see why so many people get caught up in piracy or any other similarly awful choice. The film is gripping and you cheer for our boys in uniform for doing their job and keeping Americans safe from future attacks. 

I thought Captain Phillips was a solid film and definitely a movie I would recommend to others.