Spoiler alert !!
The sea near the horn of Africa near the failed state of Somalia---one of the most pirate infested waters in the world....
Yeah , because famine like conditions prevail in Somalia , more and more of Somalians are forced to turn into buccaneers in order to survive....
And into these pirate infested waters sails Captain Phillips ( Tom Hanks ) with his American cargo ship coming from Oman....
His ship does not have a single armed guard to protect it from anybody trying to capture it....
The Somalian pirates see it sailing singly on their radar and decide to pounce on it....
But they haven't reckoned with Captain Phillips' determination to keep his ship safe....
He manages to evade them by using every trick up his sleeve....
The crew realizes that it's only a matter of time when the pirates will strike again and asks him to take the ship into safer waters....
But Captain Phillips is a hard man....
He insists on delivering the cargo to Mombasa in Kenya even if it means flirting with danger....
Big mistake.....
....For as the crew predicted , the pirates strike again....
Once again , Phillips is forced to use every trick up his sleeve to try to stop them....
But the old tricks don't always work , do they.....
The pirates do manage to board the ship !!
It's not even half way into the movie and we are at the edge of our seats already.....
I , and the rest of the audience were literally squirming in our seats as the whole sequence of the capture of the ship unfolded....
The whole first half is oh-so-tense !!
And keeping the tension alive is some great acting by Tom Hanks and especially the actors who act as Somali pirates , and above all who look like real Somali outlaws---all lean and gaunt with famished looks and desperation in their eyes....
The world's iconic rifle ( the AK 47 what else ) is in every pirate's hands , and their signature calling card is a short burst of it in the air....
But the crew of the captured ship put up a real fightback under the gallant Captain's leadership and send the pirates back to where they came from---into the sea......
Not so easy however....
.....For they have taken Captain Phillips with them as hostage....
So what happens next ?? Can the good Captain free himself and go home ??
Watch the movie for that....
What strikes you is the manner in which the whole thing is filmed---all convincingly real....
As a non American , what struck me was also the determination of the United States to save it's man , as also the awesome military power it can bear to bring in a faraway corner of the globe---a naval destroyer no less comes to rescue the Captain , and as if that is not enough a helicopter carrier is called over....
.....and SEALS ( American special forces ) are parachuted to save just one man.....
All high tech wizardry is in action , with flares fired in air to keep the pirates' ship ( a captured lifeboat actually ) under observation and sniper rifles with long range telescopic sights used to sight the pirates themselves.....
I really wished that my favorite author ( Alistair Maclean ) was alive to see this movie---he was a master of writing thrilling novels of action at sea and would have relished the movie....
The second half is less tense and less heart pounding than the first half , as the stand off between the US navy and the pirates drags on....
.....And as the end is near , the terrible gleam in the pirates' eyes gives way to the sweat of despair.....
You almost feel sorry for them , confronted as they are by the world's sole superpower and abandoned by their masters....
But I didn't feel sorry about one thing---spending my hard earned money on seeing the film , for it was worth it.....
Verdict---good .
The sea near the horn of Africa near the failed state of Somalia---one of the most pirate infested waters in the world....
Yeah , because famine like conditions prevail in Somalia , more and more of Somalians are forced to turn into buccaneers in order to survive....
And into these pirate infested waters sails Captain Phillips ( Tom Hanks ) with his American cargo ship coming from Oman....
His ship does not have a single armed guard to protect it from anybody trying to capture it....
The Somalian pirates see it sailing singly on their radar and decide to pounce on it....
But they haven't reckoned with Captain Phillips' determination to keep his ship safe....
He manages to evade them by using every trick up his sleeve....
The crew realizes that it's only a matter of time when the pirates will strike again and asks him to take the ship into safer waters....
But Captain Phillips is a hard man....
He insists on delivering the cargo to Mombasa in Kenya even if it means flirting with danger....
Big mistake.....
....For as the crew predicted , the pirates strike again....
Once again , Phillips is forced to use every trick up his sleeve to try to stop them....
But the old tricks don't always work , do they.....
The pirates do manage to board the ship !!
It's not even half way into the movie and we are at the edge of our seats already.....
I , and the rest of the audience were literally squirming in our seats as the whole sequence of the capture of the ship unfolded....
The whole first half is oh-so-tense !!
And keeping the tension alive is some great acting by Tom Hanks and especially the actors who act as Somali pirates , and above all who look like real Somali outlaws---all lean and gaunt with famished looks and desperation in their eyes....
The world's iconic rifle ( the AK 47 what else ) is in every pirate's hands , and their signature calling card is a short burst of it in the air....
But the crew of the captured ship put up a real fightback under the gallant Captain's leadership and send the pirates back to where they came from---into the sea......
Not so easy however....
.....For they have taken Captain Phillips with them as hostage....
So what happens next ?? Can the good Captain free himself and go home ??
Watch the movie for that....
What strikes you is the manner in which the whole thing is filmed---all convincingly real....
As a non American , what struck me was also the determination of the United States to save it's man , as also the awesome military power it can bear to bring in a faraway corner of the globe---a naval destroyer no less comes to rescue the Captain , and as if that is not enough a helicopter carrier is called over....
.....and SEALS ( American special forces ) are parachuted to save just one man.....
All high tech wizardry is in action , with flares fired in air to keep the pirates' ship ( a captured lifeboat actually ) under observation and sniper rifles with long range telescopic sights used to sight the pirates themselves.....
I really wished that my favorite author ( Alistair Maclean ) was alive to see this movie---he was a master of writing thrilling novels of action at sea and would have relished the movie....
The second half is less tense and less heart pounding than the first half , as the stand off between the US navy and the pirates drags on....
.....And as the end is near , the terrible gleam in the pirates' eyes gives way to the sweat of despair.....
You almost feel sorry for them , confronted as they are by the world's sole superpower and abandoned by their masters....
But I didn't feel sorry about one thing---spending my hard earned money on seeing the film , for it was worth it.....
Verdict---good .
