Captain Phillips (Film Review)

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).

So the question then becomes are these made up/changed scenes necessary and/or appropriate for a movie version of Captain Phillips?  In my opinion they are.  There is a major difference between reality and fiction, and a movie will have to take higher measures to entertain the audience with the same story.  Reality is naturally a boring place (many of us live through routine) and so when something new happens, it automatically becomes interesting.  Movies on the other hand are EXPECTED to be interesting (particularly action and thriller films) putting the stakes up much higher in that regard.  Movies' have to add to true stories because there’s a fat chance the viewer already knows all about it from the news/media.  The movie needs to add extra suspense and tension to allow the audience to feel the fear the crew feels as the pirates close in on them.  One of the best parts takes place on the cargo boat while the pirates get on board.  I felt both scared for the crew, and excited for the results despite knowing ahead that none of the crew gets hurt.  The pacing is quick and sharp so that the adrenaline shock may pump into the audience while watching.  It’s with these added scenes and edits that Captain Phillips takes a real life situation and add the excitement a thriller movie such as this should have.

The character Richard Phillips is another good example of this scenario.  The real life Phillips has been described as arrogant, unreliable, idiotic and having something of a death wish (purposely going near pirate territory) by his former crew members.  The Phillips in the movie however is the complete opposite of this description; being a likable, brave-hearted, smart witted man who stands by his mission but also puts his men’s lives over his own.  Now it doesn't help matters that the movie is based off of a book written by the real Phillips himself (the phase “self-biased opinion” comes to mind as I write this).  However while factually this movie may not be accurate, fictionally it creates a well made character.  The final scene of the movie wonderfully showcases Hanks at his A game material; giving a powerfully emotional scene that feels generally true to the heart and allows the audience to comprehend the terrifying experience that the real Phillips must have gone through.  Now whether it’s true to reality or not (and if that bother’s the viewer) is up to opinion; yet I find it hard to see a critic who could claim that Hanks performance of Richard Phillips was poorly done, as without it I feel the movie would lose its overall touch.

From my own perspective, Captain Phillips is a fictionalized true story that holds dear to the overall result while adding scenes of intensity, suspense, and action to build up the film aspects.  While at times certain scenes can overstay their welcome, and the “America rules” propagandist theme can become a little too obvious at times (The line “You’re not just Fishermen!” being a highlight), the film never goes too far with these aspects to cause any dislike.  There are even some, witty, well placed jokes here and there that got me to laugh (Such as when the pirates tell Phillips “You’re bad luck Irish”).  On the whole this is a finely crafted film; made to excite and to stimulate the emotions whether or not you know the end results.