![]() ![]() He doesn't suddenly develop super strength and overpower the bad guys. He's an Everyman, per usual, but he's not also a savior or a hero. It's sometimes painful and heart wrenching to watch. This is one of the toughest, most naked performances of Hanks' stellar career. But they're quickly immersed in an impossible situation. The villains are conflicted and desperate. The movie is told in two distinct halves: the time spent by the pirates on the Maersk as they search in vain for treasure and crew, and the time spent in the ship's lifeboat as they make their way to Somalia. His gang includes a strong man with a quick temper and Muse's own relative, who'd begged to come along on the mission - a mission that, when successful, would go a long way to improving their lives. ![]() Muse (Abdi) quickly proves himself to be a strong, humanistic leader he's single minded (where's the crew? where's the goods?) but not sinister. The pirates board the giant ship, clearly pleased with their find. There are nuances afoot for once, we get the perspective of the lead pirate (Barkhad Abdi) without falling into the easy trap of feeling empathy toward him. If this were a standard action flick, we might see the heroism of Phillips and his motley crew as they fight the evil pirates and save the world. They're pirates, working for a warlord in their impoverished country, and they smell opportunity. Two skiffloads of armed Somalis close in, ready to board the vessel. Hanks is the titular captain of the United States container ship MV Maersk Alabama, cruising along the coast of Somalia with a full load and heading toward the horn of Africa. Driven by a powerful, soul-baring performance by the inimitable Tom Hanks, the movie never lags, never oversells the plight of its characters, never reduces anyone or anything to mere caricature. ![]() Based on true events, Paul Greengrass' Captain Phillips is the rarest of thrillers, the kind that relies on neither distracting special effects nor circumspect character development. ![]()
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