Captain Phillips (2013)

Did you know that even in today’s times, we still have to worry about pirates in the ocean waters? In October 2013, we saw a real life story about some pirates, and they weren’t your rum drinking friendly Jack Sparrow kind either.

Directing this 134 minute action/adventure/biography/crime/drama/thriller is Paul Greengrass.

Some of the cast retelling this true life event is: Tom Hanks as Captain Richard Phillips, Barkhad Abdi as Muse, Barkhad Abdirahman as Bilal, Faysal Ahmed as Najee, Mahat M. Ali as Elmi, Max Martini as SEAL Commander and Catherine Keener as Andrea Phillips.

This film tells the story of a man that was captain of a U.S. cargo ship that was hijacked by pirates. In 2009, Richard Phillips’s ship was taken over by men from Somali. What was just another day of smooth sailing for the captain turned into a fight for survival. Before either Phillips or the head pirate Muse realizes it, a quick turn of events strands not only Phillips but the pirates as well, in a position that none of them could have foreseen. This story takes us on a journey of the first American ship to be hijacked in 200 years and to just what lengths a captain will go to protect not only his men, but also his ship.

This is a serious movie from the get go. I can’t even imagine what Phillips could have been thinking while going through this. The script and playthrough were really good and Hanks gives an amazing performance. I got so much more than I expected when watching this film. I was not only entertained but hooked to see what was going to happen next, or see how it was going to end.