Captain Phillips

Directed by Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips follows the crew of an American cargo ship, led by Tom Hanks’ Richard Phillips, as they’re forced to contend with the advances of several vicious pirates (including Barkhad Abdi’s Muse and Barkhad Abdirahman’s Bilal). It’s a fascinating true-life tale that’s employed to consistently engrossing and sporadically electrifying effect by filmmaker Paul Greengrass, as the director, working from Billy Ray’s screenplay, does a superb job of initially drawing the viewer into the deliberately-paced proceedings – with the movie’s intriguing atmosphere heightened by Hanks’ typically engaging turn as the no-nonsense protagonist. There’s little doubt that Captain Phillips benefits substantially from the inclusion of several unexpectedly captivating sequences, with, for example, the pirates’ initial approach far more suspenseful and tense than one might’ve anticipated (ie this portion outdoes most contemporary actioners in terms of genuine thrills). And although the movie loses some momentum in its slightly overlong midsection, Captain Phillips bounces back with an absolutely enthralling third act that’s rife with nail-biting, white-knuckle moments – with Hanks’ increasingly mesmerizing performance going a long way towards elevating the emotional impact of the film’s final stretch. The movie’s success ultimately secures Greengrass’ place as a master of this sort of thing (Green Zone notwithstanding), and it’s difficult to easily recall a more affecting (and effective) mainstream Hollywood thriller that’s been unabashedly geared towards older viewers.

**** out of ****