Movie Review: Captain Phillips
Oct. 30th, 2013 11:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23From the first preview that you saw, you knew Captain Phillips was going to be a thrill ride.
And possibly Oscar Bait.
Phillips pares it down to the basics. If you were imagining Zero Dark Thirty, well this isn't, this is Zero without Jessica Chastain's part. Argo without backstory.
Which is fine. Director Paul Greengrass is best known for the Bourne sequels, and he goes for all adrenaline.
Not that plot and backstory is needed, There is terror inherent in the unpredictability of Somali pirates (and Greengrass does try to reveal their motives). Amateur actor Barkhad Abdi as the lead pirate puts on a mesmerizing performance.
Tom Hanks is strong as well. Sure, we've all since learned that the real hero of the day was probably the Chief Engineer (and Captain Phillips is probably an a--hole who no one wanted to work for, who ignored warnigns, and got too close to the Somali coast. Maybe?). We come to expect our movies to take such liberties. Of course, Hanks is the hero, and serves as a competent lead. he tries to pull off Phillips' Boston accent which makes the thing a bit Forest Gump-ish, but he carries the film, and the final scene (in which a real live Navy Seal features to make the scene more realistic) is some powerful stuff.
It will satisfy a lot of audiences and if Hanks and Abdi get Oscar noms, don't be surprised. Like Denzel's Unstoppable, there is enough talent in the actors and enough skill from the director to take a quick premise and run with it. There's really not much else to say though, and if you don't like these adrenaline-producing thrillers or you are expecting anything more, you may end up disappointed.
And possibly Oscar Bait.
Phillips pares it down to the basics. If you were imagining Zero Dark Thirty, well this isn't, this is Zero without Jessica Chastain's part. Argo without backstory.
Which is fine. Director Paul Greengrass is best known for the Bourne sequels, and he goes for all adrenaline.
Not that plot and backstory is needed, There is terror inherent in the unpredictability of Somali pirates (and Greengrass does try to reveal their motives). Amateur actor Barkhad Abdi as the lead pirate puts on a mesmerizing performance.
Tom Hanks is strong as well. Sure, we've all since learned that the real hero of the day was probably the Chief Engineer (and Captain Phillips is probably an a--hole who no one wanted to work for, who ignored warnigns, and got too close to the Somali coast. Maybe?). We come to expect our movies to take such liberties. Of course, Hanks is the hero, and serves as a competent lead. he tries to pull off Phillips' Boston accent which makes the thing a bit Forest Gump-ish, but he carries the film, and the final scene (in which a real live Navy Seal features to make the scene more realistic) is some powerful stuff.
It will satisfy a lot of audiences and if Hanks and Abdi get Oscar noms, don't be surprised. Like Denzel's Unstoppable, there is enough talent in the actors and enough skill from the director to take a quick premise and run with it. There's really not much else to say though, and if you don't like these adrenaline-producing thrillers or you are expecting anything more, you may end up disappointed.
