Captain Phillips

It's fair to say that the movies which have been walking away with Box Office numbers this year have been either big superhero movies or big sci-fi movies. If you're wondering whether or not you should go and see this film because it looks like something a little different DO IT! This is a film, regardless if you already know the story, which delivers excellent acting, excellent moments of tension and excellent use of emotion which ,when you leave the theatre, won't be difficult to feel at all. Now if you're still considering whether or not you should go and see this film, let's address the rumours you might have already heard: 1.There's been a lot of talk about Tom Hanks potentially claiming another Oscar - yes he simply HAS to be up for contention after this. True in the first half of the film he doesn't necessarily have to be all out emotional, but he does enough so that when we reach the second half and ultimately the final act, we are in as much shock and awe as the character of Richard Phillips through watching his performance. 2. A few people have said "too much Tom Hanks." There's two sides to this: Obviously he's going to be in the story a lot because he is the star BUT he doesn't give the only good performance here; the Somali pirates are truly terrifying, not just because of what they are but because their characters have a lot of uncertainty making them very unpredictable. 3. Some people are saying it's overrated and we've seen it all before. I'm not claiming its the greatest movie ever made, but what I am saying is its definitely worth a look. So if you're worried about wasting some cash don't be, it's definitely a film you won't regret paying for.

"It was supposed to be easy. I take over ship, get paid, no one gets hurt." In 2009 a Somali named Muse (Abdi) is in trouble and needs to get money for his boss fast or face the consequences. His plan is to hijack a cargo ship and hold it ransom until he gets his money. When he boards a ship captained by Rich Phillips (Hanks) he thinks he found his answer to his problems, but things only get worse for all involved. This is a true story. It's always more fun to watch a movie that is also a true story and even better when you see one that you remember the events when it was happening. As far as the movie goes it starts off pretty slow but grows more and more tense as it goes on. As great an actor as Tom Hanks is I found myself thinking that this is really a part that many people could pull off. Then I watched the last 20 minutes and realized why they got Hanks. Much like the movie Apollo 13, when you watch a movie that you know how it ends but still end up shedding a tear it is because of great filmmmaking. This falls into that category. A movie that builds momentum the entire time. Starts off slow but by the end you are hoping for more. I liked it. Overall, tense and makes you think about both sides of the event and if the pirates were really evil or not. I give it a B+.

Although it is basically a true story, I must be one of the few who did not know the ending already, since I had never heard this specific story. How much it matters if you already do or not I cannot say, but for me the film was not really about the resolution until near the end because for most of the time it is about the moment and what is going on there and then. It does this by breaking the story down pretty well into such contained but yet connected moments so that it is effective at the time and also has a flow to it.

There are moments where it doesn't really keep that up – some of them it needs, but others it doesn't. In the tension and in the lulls, the film does well to keep things evenly balanced so that you don't completely turn against the Somalis as if they were generic baddies, but at the same time it never pushes anything down your throat about their situation. The one thing I was surprised that it came on strong about was the military response. I'm not sure if the film was trying to make a comment by playing it quite so "Hollywood" at the end, but to me it did feel a bit odd in the film to have the music, camera-work and dialogue of a Michael Bay movie occurring in a situation where they were facing down a couple of guys with more feet than shoes. It still worked, don't get me wrong, but at the same time it had a generic feel to this aspect that I could have done without – particularly since earlier it seemed smarter than that.

What helps it in these moments (and throughout) is that Hanks is great. He plays it out in a natural and convincing way, whether he is over- confident or in shock. Much has been made of Abdi's performance and I do see why, because it is frequently easy to forget that he is acting because he does seem quite real throughout. The supporting cast perhaps have fewer opportunities for nuance but they are still convincing and play their parts well, particularly those in the confines of the lift raft.

Captain Phillips could have been a little shorter and been better for it and, while I don't totally see the film that others did, I did still enjoy it. It is tense and yet nuanced throughout, only really producing some aspects that don't work quite as well in the meantime.

"Captain Phillips" is the Hollywood retelling of the true-to-life 2009 harrowing story of an American container vessel Maersk Alabama (with Captain Richard Phillips at the helm) being held hostage by Somali pirates. The screenplay by Billy Ray was based on the novel "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea" written by Captain Richard Phillips himself.

Playing the titular character, Tom Hanks is what this film is all about. He starts off simply, playing Capt. Phillips as a family man and seasoned seaman on a routine delivery. However when the pirates came, you see him transform into a cool-under-pressure leader and shrewd tactician, matching wits with these desperate aggressors. In the last five minutes, Hanks would give us an unexpected display of emotion which may well deliver him another Oscar for Best Actor.

The four Somali-American first-time actors playing the pirates are a very realistic bunch. They play with wild-eyed and feral intensity, really scary. Barkhad Abdi plays their skinny foolhardy leader Muse, engaging Phillips in a deadly chess game, toe-to-toe. Faysal Ahmed plays the hot-headed Najee, who was the loose cannon of the group. Barkhad Abdirahman plays the young recruit Bilal, getting himself a baptism of fire on his first time out.

When I saw the name director Paul Greengrass in the credits, I understood why the sense of tension and urgency were so well-conveyed. This was that familiar sense of excitement we felt in his previous films, like the last two Jason Bourne films or that suspenseful 9/11 drama "United 93". He really knows how to make military operations exciting on screen, as he did for the Army in "Green Zone" and the Navy SEALS in this film.

I have to admit I was on the verge of getting seasick with the shakiness of the camera, but luckily I held on despite the two-hour length of the film set at sea.

Overall, this is a different sort of adventure drama, with a topic not too commonly tackled in a mainstream film. We hear of these events on the news, but this film brings us right in the middle of one. We will feel the tension building as the pirates were approaching. We will feel the fear when the pirates were on board. We will feel the desperation and the frustration of being trapped in the middle of the open ocean with no help immediately forthcoming. If you are up for such a realistic experience, then this film is for you.

What a stunning film - the imminent threat of deadly violence tempered with the tragic circumstances that drive people to such desperate actions made for a very human story.

If Hanks is nominated for an Oscar for this, then Barkhad Abdi deserves a nomination too, because their scenes together were electric - never once did Abdi appear the junior party, every bit Hank's equal as two cunning foes trying to outfox one another.

The best lines in the film were perhaps when Phillips beseeched of Muse: "Surely there's something other than fishing and kidnapping people you could do?"

To which Muse replied, sombrely: "In America, maybe".

It's a must see, the best film I've seen this year.