Tom Hanks Delivers His Best Acting In This Blockbuster Film Now Streaming On Netflix
Captain Phillips is streaming right now on Netflix.
This article is more than 2 years old
Award-winning actor, Tom Hanks, has delivered an innumerable number of amazing performances over the lifetime of his career, and now audiences at home can watch one of his best performances of all time on Netflix. Without question, the actor behind films like The Terminal and Forrest Gump is one of the most beloved actors of all time. Now, Tom Hanks’ 2013 biographical action-thriller, Captain Phillips, is available for streaming.
Based on a true story, Captain Phillips is about the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, a cargo ship circumventing around the horn of Africa. Hanks plays the titular character, Captain Richard Phillips, a merchant mariner who was taken hostage by Somali pirates. The screenplay was written by Billy Ray, who based his script on Phillips’ book, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, which was released in 2010. Ray is best known for writing the teen action-adventure film, The Hunger Games, and the historical drama, Shattered Glass.
The film asks the question, how does a merchant mariner captain keep his crew safe when bloodthirsty and money-hungry pirates commandeer the ship? The answer is that Captain Phillips must act carefully to outwit the pirates and ensure that everyone returns home. How he does this is what makes the film so thrilling to watch.
In real life, after they escaped the pirates, one of the men from Phillips’ crew sued Phillips, claiming that the captain was aware of the danger of Somali pirates but sailed them through the invaded sea anyway because it was the fastest way to deliver their cargo. At the end of the film, the credits tell the audience that Muse, the pirate captain, was captured and sentenced to 33 years in prison and that Phillips returned to sea the next year.
Tom Hanks delivers a moving performance as Captain Phillips and his co-star, Barkhad Abdi, received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Muse, the pirate leader. The film also stars Barkhad Abdirahman as Bilal, one of Muse’s pirates. Captain Phillips was directed by Paul Greengrass, best known for directing other action-thrillers like The Bourne Ultimatum and United 93.
When the film was released in October 2013, it was an immediate success. It grossed a total of $218.8 million and was made with a budget of $55 million. The film was the second highest-grossing film at the box office in its opening weekend, with only Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, coming in ahead.
In addition to monetary success, Tom Hanks’ adaptation of Captain Phillips was also a critical success, with Rotten Tomatoes claiming it was “yet another brilliant performance” from Hanks. The film received a 93% rating from over 282 critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with more than 100,000 audience members rating it an 89%.
The film was nominated for numerous awards, including six Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, and nine British Academy Film Awards. It received recognition for being one of the best screenplays, best-directed film, best-edited film, and best-acted. However, Abdi took home the film’s only winning award, a BAFTA for best-supporting actor.
