Embrace your creed

Frankly speaking, this kind of films can never go wrong for me.  I must admit, my constant hunger for outrages fiction left me ill-equip in knowledge of critically commenting these films.  Nonetheless, I ridiculously enjoyed Captain Phillips and heck, Tom Hanks is my favorite actor! Though I'm not familiar with Paul Greengrass's films, this one might just pull me in.

 The danger is real

I knew that this film was based on a true story but I didn't bothered to research what happened.  So, I watched this film with little knowledge of what to expect.  Right from the start, I notice the heavy hand held shots; catching me off guard.  The close ups of Captain Richard Phillips and his wife bothered me as I didn't have a clearer view of them.  The story's perspective then widens as we are shown the lives of the Somalian Pirates.  The Captain then continues to check his ship's crew and quarters; leaving everything in check.  It can't help but to remind me of Assassin's Creed Black Flag..haha.  Some might ask "When are the pirates are going to come?" and that, to me, it's a bad thing.  Getting ahead of a film not only almost ruins the movie experience but is also quite annoying.  The early hand held shots of both the Pirates and Captain's lives are very essential because when the conflict finally arrives, the dangers felt really real.  This is an aspect of the film that I really admire; the dedication of highlighting the danger.  I can imagine this film without the handheld shots and it wouldn't be as engaging.

At the edge of my seat

This is a survival genre; focusing on one unfortunate event.  So, the character developments aren't as apparent as the superhero genre that I'm used to.  I know this though I didn't thought of it as I was watching.  The character Captain Phillips wasn't exactly unique and I guess that's not the point of the story.  Tom Hanks acting, playing a responsible and quick witted Captain, was all so awesome.  Somehow, I feel the weight that the character had to carry.  Every risky games that the Captain and crew played kept me excited.  Man, I don't feel like this often when I'm watching films.  Barkhad Abdi, who played the leader of the four pirates, was not dangerous.  No, I didn't felt like his character was dangerous.  This is not a bad thing, though.  The Pirates whom captured the captain weren't professionals and you can see that throughout.  I just felt angry and annoyed not at the acting but at the characters.  I hated them...in a good way.  Automatically that should prove the effectiveness of their acting.

Based on a true story

In the final scene where the doctors was checking on the Captain.  Oh my god, it was just so emotional.  He was focused, smart and sometimes tired.  But at the end of the film, we see that he's just a normal person; breaking down emotionally from the horrors of the pirates.  Man, Tom Hanks is such a good actor.

Verdict

Although I did enjoyed the film immensely, my lack of notion in this genre does effect the overall rating.  It is just a number after all and I would recommend anybody to watch this.  I give Captain Phillips a 4/5 for the awe inspiring acting of Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi and the rest of the cast.  Plus, an admirable effort in highlighting the realism.

   As of late, I realized that the movie reviews I've been watching are mostly one dimensional; stating what they saw literally and giving none critical comments.  This realization started after I watched The Amazing Spider-man 2.  It annoyed me like crazy.  It bothered me as they didn't consider the auteur theory, writing style, chemistry in acting and so many more.  It pisses me off.  So, I could complain all day long but it's generally not productive.  Thus I decided to find other sources of reviews and at the same time, I try to review more intellectually; considering the art, commercial value and perspective of the audience.  I really do hope that this review is constructive as possible.  Salam and thanks for reading!