Captain Phillips - Noodles Review

9 out of 10 Noodles

   Wow. Oscar season really is starting early this year. That's always a good thing because it gives us more GOOD movies to watch over a longer period of time! And I guess you can already infer from that, that I really enjoyed Captain Phillips. Captain Phillips was one of my most anticipated movies of this year, mostly because it stars Tom Hanks, who happens to be my favourite actor. Recently, he hasn't been as much of a driving force in Hollywood as he used to be. Cloud Atlas was cool and all, but not many people watched it. His previous two films, Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close and Larry Crowne, were of little appeal to me. However, Tom Hanks is back on his feet now and gives one of the best performances of his career (and with his repertoire, that's really saying something). Anyway, Tom Hanks's presence really gives this film a lot of initial credibility, as he's probably the only big name on the poster. But, the movie tells a true story of events that happened not too long ago, which brings more relevance to it. Captain Phillips is about an American cargo ship that gets overrun by Somalian pirates, and then the thrilling situations that ensue. This movie is gripping to the edge; there's not a boring moment present. An hour feels like 20 minutes with this movie, in a positive way though; and that's due to the great pacing and editing of this movie. It's directed really well by Paul Greengrass, who's known for directing The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93, and Green Zone. Paul Greengrass is the only director out there who has truly mastered shaky cam. A lot (and I mean A LOT) of movies nowadays try to utilize shaky cam effects, but it's always either overdone or poorly executed. Greengrass, however, makes it an art, and he's done it again here. In supplement to that, the cinematography is fantastic; there's tons of sweeping shots of the ocean and the boats, while there's also claustrophobic scenes within the confines of crowded areas. This truly adds to the intensity of the film.
   The intensity of the movie is capitalized by the acting. As I said, Tom Hanks gives one of his best perform
ances, and that means a lot for him since he's given probably a dozen stellar performances in his career, two of which have already won him Oscars. Even being such a recognizable actor, you still look past him being Tom Hanks and you just see the man, Captain Richard Phillips. Hanks gives such a realistic, emotional, and overall terrific performance that's capable of bringing up man tears. Even though he's the best though, the rest of the cast rounds up extremely well. The Somalian pirates, especially, impressed me. The four actors who play them truly look like the casting directors actually picked up some real pirates. Also, after a little bit of research, I came to find that this is the first performance each of them has ever portrayed. Yet, their acting was intense and convincing, that I just have to applaud them; especially the main bad guy, he was played so well and you could really see his point of view even though you weren't rooting for him. This whole movie is so convincing, that you feel like you're actually there as these events unfold. You can really feel the heat and sweat of each thing that happens and that's one of the main things I admire about this film. The acting and directing really shines.
   However, it's not a shiny day for these characters because this movie is intense as hell. Captain Phillips is a straightup thriller for most of the movie. I was either at the edge of my seat not able to catch my breath; or sitting forward always trying to anticipate what would happen next, always not knowing if these guys were gonna be alright. Once the shit hits the fan, this movie just grabs you and doesn't let you go until the end credits. You really begin to care for all these guys and get sucked into this. The style of tension in this movie is unlike anything I've seen this year. Sometimes it gets slow, but it's always suspenseful and heavy. The writing is incredible and you gotta tip your hat off to the whole crew for being able to take this true story and make it into something that we could all watch and get fully engrossed into. And the movie has such relevance because it chronicles such a recent event so well.
   The movie was so well made and so realistic that you really cared for everyone and everything that happened to them, really adding to why it's so thrilling. Captain Phillips is thrilling all the way through, spectacularly acted, smartly written, amazingly directed, and one of the most intense and emotional movies of the past couple years. At 9 out of 10 Noodles, Captain Phillips is one of my favourite movies of 2013.