Captain Phillips (2013)
This film is based on a true story in which a cargo ship (Maersk Alabama) is hijicked by Somalian pirates. The film stars Tom Hanks and a American-Somlian actor, Barkhad Abdi with the directer being Paul Greengrass. The captain of this ship, Cpt Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) was given orders to sail through the Gulf of Aden to Mombasa, round the Horn of Africa. Wary of pirate activity off the coast of Somalia, the captain orders strict security precautions on the vessel and carries out practice drills.
During a drill, the vessel is chased by Somali pirates in two skiffs; Phillips succeeds in outrunning them when one gives up after hearing Phillips on the radio calling for immediate military air support (a bluff) and the other loses engine power while trying to gain speed under the rough water Captain Phillips created. The next day one of the skiffs returns with four heavily armed pirates led by Abduwali Muse (Barkhad Abdi); they are carrying a ladder.
Despite the best efforts of Phillips and his crew, the pirates board and take control of the Maersk Alabama, capturing Captain Phillips after he cuts the ship's engine power and tells the crew to hide in the ship's engine room. Phillips offers Muse the contents of the ship's safe ($30,000), but, under orders from his boss, Muse's plan is to ransom the ship and crew in exchange for millions of dollars of insurance money from the shipping company.
In the end the Navy are called out and rescue Cpt Phillips who was abducted from his ship. The 3 Somalian pirates were killed in the process by 3 Navy SEALS.
In my opinion this film was one of Tom Hanks greatest performances. I say this because of the way he portrayed the real Cpt Phillips and also the way that this film kept me on the edge of my seat throughout, regardless of me knowing how it ends as it's a true story.
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