Captain Phillips

Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3ASoBrFGlc

I love when a film does so well based on how good the film is as opposed to who's in it or how it's advertised. Sure Tom Hanks is a huge star but he puts on arguably the performance of his career in Captain Phillips. The whole film is tense as hell, the whole story is excellently told and the whole thing just feels so...real.

The film starts by introducing us to the Captain Phillips himself as well as the Somalian pirates which surprised me a little. The film isn't just told from one side here- we're introduced to the pirates as actual human beings and find out a bit about them and their motives. It's an excellent touch and when shit starts going down on the ship it makes them seem all the more terrifying that you know a little more about them and you understand their desperation.

The film doesn't take it's time in getting right to the action and the panic and fear felt on-board the ship is shared equally with the cinema audience. My heart sunk as they started to board the ship and I bit my lip as the took the captain's men hostage with guns to their heads. It draws you right in and puts you right in the crew's shoes.

The whole film is essentially a hostage situation and as much as the story weakens in terms of interest near the end before the grand finale the tension is set on full for almost all of the film's 135 minute duration. The pirate characters seem so wild and unpredictable sometimes you're kept on the edge of your seat constantly at the prospect of what they're going to do next.

The acting in this film is in my opinion the best of the year. Every cast member feels genuine- especially Tom Hanks. He doesn't over-play the character, he just plays him as an authentic human being. A heroically brave one at that.

I always say that films based on true stories have a tough job sometimes on translating a real life story to one that's almost constantly interesting and gripping but Captain Phillips nails it. There are parts of the film where not much happens at all- just interaction between characters while they wait for things to happen but it's never a bore to watch. True some of the scenes near the beginning are more powerful than some of those at the mid-end point but I never felt like the film dragged.

It also has very broad appeal with a load of action, wonderfully acted drama and a load of heart. You invest a lot of emotion in Captain Phillips and as the film ends that emotion is likely to come gushing out.

One thing- every scene seemed to end with a rising  trumpet- like the end of an episode of Lost. Pretty sure no one else noticed other than me but I was at least a little aware of it and distracted me a little.

Captain Philliips is deserving of the praise it's come to receive in the past few weeks and is very much a must-watch for 2013. Let's just hope Hanks can make it a double with Saving Mr.Banks.

9/10