On the latest episode of Reel Reviews, the biopic of the merchant mariner who was taken hostage by pirates in the Indian Ocean during the Maersk Alabama hijacking in 2009 is dramatically recreated in Captain Phillips.
Audio Review
Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) is the captain of the American container ship MV Maersk Alabama, when in April 2009, it is hijacked off the coast of Somalia by a crew of Somali pirates led by Muse (Barkhad Abdi). Phillips endures a grueling ordeal, first on the ship, working to protect his crew, and then having been taken hostage, on a lifeboat.
Directed by Paul Greengrass, with a screenplay by Billy Ray, based upon the book, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea (2010), by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty. Captain Phillips is powered by two fantastic performances by Hanks and Abdi.
Grade: B+
Check out the review from WETA-TV’s Around Town, below: