CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Review

There are some films you simply take as solid ventures, so well crafted and acted that it is hard to deny the inherent quality of what you are witnessing on screen. Though there may not be anything strictly exceptional about the project overall you understand that it is an impressive accomplishment and a film to be admired if not completely adored. Thus is the case I run into with Captain Phillips, the latest from director Paul Greengrass (United 93, The Bourne Supremancy & Ultimatum) that serves up a take on a true story that was well publicized in national news a few years ago and has Tom Hanks at the center of it. This combination of elements, including the director, are very well set-up to deliver something prestigious and well made. It is that perfect storm of concept and movie star with the added value of a legitimate director behind the wheel to steer it in the right direction that allows Captain Phillips to not necessarily strike you immediately as an impressive film, yet allows it to absolutely live up to the expectations those kinds of factors demand. While I wasn't overly familiar with the true life story of Richard Phillips I'd certainly heard of it and though the trailers didn't look as intriguing as I'd expected (again, due to the reasoning of all the components involved I expected a little something more), but I was game as you can't go wrong with the formula and director Greengrass has the uncommon ability of making a thrilling film from real-life events where we already know how the story will end. He did this with United 93 by tapping into the human element involved and does very much the same here while allowing his lessons learned on the Bourne films to inform his restrained, but tension-inducing action sequences. What happens in this film could be broken down to a few very basic scenarios, but Greengrass is able to convey the heightened sense of alert, of fear, and that fear of the unknown into a real character as Hanks' Phillips goes through the tasks required of him from the Somali pirates that have hijacked his ship. Building the engagement of the audience through these set pieces and developing the characters at the same time is an achievement not to be glossed over and Captain Phillips executes this nearly every chance it gets.