The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.
Billy Ray (screenplay), Richard Phillips (based upon the book "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea" by) |1 more credit »
Check out our gallery of the 2021 Golden Globe nominees in the leading and supporting acting categories, as the characters they so brilliantly played and in real life
Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. It is - through director Paul Greengrass's distinctive lens - simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller, and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama's commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award®-winner Tom Hanks), and the Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), who takes him hostage. Phillips and Muse are set on an unstoppable collision course when Muse and his crew target Phillips' unarmed ship; in the ensuing standoff, 145 miles off the Somali coast, both men will find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control.Written by
Sony Pictures Entertainment
The original cut featured additional scenes with Catherine Keener, with her character discovering her husband's ordeal as it happened, and subsequently dealing with the press intrusion, and the efforts to rescue him. It was decided in editing, that the subplot pulled focus from the central scenario on the ship and was excised. Paul Greengrass debated cutting the film's introductory land-based scenes all-together, but decided to keep them intact, once it meant Keener would otherwise have been removed from the film entirely. See more »
Goofs
At the beginning of the film, Capt. Phillips and his wife are portrayed driving from their home in Underhill, Vermont to Burlington International Airport (BTV) via a four-lane highway and passing an exit numbered 29. There are no four-lane highways in Vermont. It is unlikely they would have traveled on any highway to get to BTV. The only highway in that part of the state is Interstate 89, which does not have an exit numbered 29. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Andrea Phillips:
Okay.
[Andrea and Richard get in car and start driving]
Andrea Phillips:
You all right?
Captain Richard Phillips:
Yeah.
Andrea Phillips:
You'd think these trips would get easier, but it's just the opposite.
Captain Richard Phillips:
Well, I feel the same way, Ange.
Andrea Phillips:
I know this is what we do. This is our life. But it just seems like... the world is moving so fast... right now things are changing so much.
Captain Richard Phillips:
They sure are. I'll tell you something. It's not gonna be easy for our kids. They'll be going into a different world than the one you and I came into.
See more »
Up in Here
Written by Kovas (as Kovasciar Myvette)
Performed by Kovas (as KOVAS)
Courtesy of Downtown Music Services
By arrangement with Infinite Rhythm See more »
User Reviews
Like a time machine to the year 2009, you'd be taken.
That went a lot higher than my expectations. I was thinking an okay movie, but that was more than just okay. Truly impressive powerful thriller.
The movie's strength points could be summed up:
1. Greengrass's thrillers are really fine, I like his The Bourne Ultimatum with his shaky camera tricks. And here he is doing it again maybe with different techniques. As a thriller, Greengrass managed to make this movie get on your nerves and put so much tension, and that's a success.
2. The Somali crew.. Now, that's some serious impressive sh*t. Some Somali dudes you have never seen their faces in a movie before come and make such spectacular performances, that's something you should admire. It made the movie so believable that you'd sometimes forget it's just a movie. Barkhad Abdi has made a huge step in his career with this movie and that was crowned by his nomination for the best actor in a supporting role. He probably won't get it, but he deserved it.
3. Tom Hanks is just a really fine actor. He was driving the whole thing with his convincing performance. I still can't believe he got my tearing in that scene, or let's just say crying. Greengrass has taken him to squeeze some fine acting skills.
4. Fair screenplay that didn't make you forget that justice should be done, no matter how the conditions the person lives in, but it also pushed the eyes to take a look into the world that would produce such people as pirates.
54 of 65 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
That went a lot higher than my expectations. I was thinking an okay movie, but that was more than just okay. Truly impressive powerful thriller.
The movie's strength points could be summed up:
1. Greengrass's thrillers are really fine, I like his The Bourne Ultimatum with his shaky camera tricks. And here he is doing it again maybe with different techniques. As a thriller, Greengrass managed to make this movie get on your nerves and put so much tension, and that's a success.
2. The Somali crew.. Now, that's some serious impressive sh*t. Some Somali dudes you have never seen their faces in a movie before come and make such spectacular performances, that's something you should admire. It made the movie so believable that you'd sometimes forget it's just a movie. Barkhad Abdi has made a huge step in his career with this movie and that was crowned by his nomination for the best actor in a supporting role. He probably won't get it, but he deserved it.
3. Tom Hanks is just a really fine actor. He was driving the whole thing with his convincing performance. I still can't believe he got my tearing in that scene, or let's just say crying. Greengrass has taken him to squeeze some fine acting skills.
4. Fair screenplay that didn't make you forget that justice should be done, no matter how the conditions the person lives in, but it also pushed the eyes to take a look into the world that would produce such people as pirates.