Captain Phillips is a film based on true events involving Somali pirates taking over a cargo ship and then kidnapping its captain, Richard Phillips (played by Tom Hanks), as a bargaining chip for ransom. The film contains all the good aspects of last year’s 2012 Oscar best picture Argo. Both are true stories that stick to the essential real life results, yet change up minor aspects in character, plot, and story line. Real life stories can be interesting and extraordinary, but can also lack certain elements that make film genres like action and thriller the successes they are. As such while both films are based on the true story, they add/change up scenarios and situations that will engage and interest the viewer. For example, there is a scene where one of the ship’s fire hoses breaks and a crew member has to go fix it while the pirates are trying to board in that particular spot. This event, as well as many other events in the film, simply did not happen in real life (such as the hijacking occurring at 4 AM in reality, but happening during the afternoon in the film).
