Netflix Thriller Biopic Has Hollywood A-Lister Fighting For His Life
Biopics set in modern times are often held under more scrutiny than their historical counterparts because when creative liberties are taken, the people who lived through the events can tell you how things really went down. While the real-life Captain Richard Phillips’ acts of selfless heroism, as portrayed by Tom Hanks in 2013’s Captain Phillips, were called into question from his actual crew members (resulting in a lawsuit that was settled out of court), I’m not here to talk about the actual hijacking. Alleged historical inaccuracies aside, this film is a masterpiece in generating dramatic tension, and uses its claustrophobic setting to make you feel like you’re about to go down with the ship yourself.
Being Lost At Sea Sounds Like A More Desirable Scenario
Captain Phillips tells a simple story about how Somali pirates with limited resources were able to commandeer the MV Maersk Alabama, an unarmed cargo ship, and hold its crew hostage for days. The film begins with Tom Hanks’ Richard Phillips knowing the dangers of his upcoming route before setting out to sea, and knowing that he’ll have to exercise extreme caution.
Working alongside First Officer Shane Murphy (Michael Chernus), Captain Phillips and his crew carry out practice drills so they know how to handle a possible pirate hijacking. But as luck may have it, they’re already being approached by a small gang of Somali pirates, who they’re successfully able to thwart with whatever non-lethal means they have on-board (high-pressure hoses, for example).
“I’m The Captain Now” Goes So Hard
Though Captain Phillips and his crew were able to get away from this initial altercation unscathed, the pirates come back the following day and successfully infiltrate the Maersk Alabama. In one of the most chilling sequences in modern cinema, pirate leader Abduwali Muse (Barkhad Abdi) gives Captain Phillips an ice-cold stare before proclaiming “I’m the captain now,” and demanding that the whole crew congregates in one place or else he’ll start killing them to show he’s not joking around.
Tom Hanks wins so many points for his portrayal of Captain Phillips (whether it’s accurate or not) because he’s so visibly frightened, but remains stoic for his crew while he states Muse’s demands through the intercom.
Stop By For The Crew, Stick Around For The Ransom
Thinking that he can send the pirates on their way by offering the money inside the ship’s safe, Captain Phillips starts negotiating, but his offer of $30,000 isn’t what the pirates are looking for because they know they can cash in big through the shipping company’s insurance policy if they play their cards right.
Barkhad Abdi’s portrayal of Abduwali Muse is absolutely menacing because his face of stone tells you that he’s been through hell, and this hijacking is his big score that may lead to a better life. Armed only with the weapons he was able to transport on his makeshift skiff, he commands the whole crew to do his bidding while he figures out his next moves, and the second-hand fear you’ll experience while watching these scenes play out is palpable.
An Absolute Jaw Clencher
The remainder of Captain Phillips plays out like a tense game of chess, but instead of pawns and bishops making calculated moves to eliminate the king, the hijackers and Phillips’ crew both use the resources at their disposal, making each and every step along the way a life-or-death scenario.
While you’re gripping the armrest of your chair not knowing who’s going to make it out of this ordeal alive, you’ll understand the place of desperation that the pirates are coming from while simultaneously sympathizing with the Maersk Alabama crew who are just trying to do their job.
As somebody who’s only mildly claustrophobic, the moments in the film when the crew finds themselves in a tight spot (both literally and figuratively) after being rounded up had me feeling the same way I do while watching the last girl in a horror flick trip in the woods while the killer is slowly approaching.
Stream Captain Phillips On Netflix
GFR SCORE
Captain Phillips expertly builds tension from its outset, and never lets up until the closing credits start scrolling. While I can describe how the film made me feel while watching it, it simply doesn’t do justice to experiencing this action-thriller first-hand.
If you want to see Tom Hanks in top dramatic form (sorry, Castaway), then you need to make sure that Captain Phillips makes its way into your Netflix queue as soon as possible.
