Captain Phillips (2013) - Breathtakingly Told!

★★★★☆

Captain Phillips must feel rather fortunate being an American citizen because in the film we see that he’s got a lot of backup from the Navy to be able to stay alive till the end. Those pirates are however, not that lucky at all. Men are all born equal, that is total bullshit you know. We’re born into different parts of the world living different lives. There’s no way for us to achieve equality or stuff. So when Richard Phillips tries to convince Muse, the pirate leader played by Barkhad Abdi, to give up by saying ‘there's got to be something other than being a fisherman or kidnapping people’, he replies without hesitation, ‘maybe in America, Irish, maybe in America’. Like it or not, some are just lucky enough to have a choice of their own as to which walk of life is much worthier and more respectable, but some are not so!

Honestly I feel very sorry for those pirates having no choice but to listen to their bosses and risk their lives to earn a living every day. But do we really have control over who we want to be and what we want to do? No. It seems like we do but we don’t as a matter of fact. We’re basically flowing on the wind of our own karma. We’re directionless. We’re not free. We get to do just what we want, not what we should!

‘Captain Phillips’ is a breathtaking action thriller that I’ve been missing for ages. The plot stays intense throughout, and wastes no time. Just about 20 minutes into the film, we begin the see the confrontation between Captain Phillips and the Somalia pirates playing out. The second half of the film gives an attack of claustrophobia as Captain Phillips is held hostage in a small lifeboat by four pirates having gone too far to give up. Tom Hanks is excellent as usual at putting on a convincing performance, but Barkhad Abdi is even better. That’s why he’s been nominated as Best Supporting Actor for this year’s Oscar. Chances are he’s going to pull it off. And the sound editing and mixing are definitely a plus to make this film based on a true story written by Captain Richard Phillips himself so exhilarating and remarkable! The only thing I’d complain about it is probably the way it ends that seems a bit too quick and all of a sudden.

Sad enough. This film reminds me of one of my uncles who went missing years ago with a huge cargo ship on which he was working as a chef around Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. His body was never found. Neither was the ship! Everything about it remains a mystery. All I know is, my mom feels thankful to him because he did help her get through certain difficulties. And sometimes she wonders why a goodhearted man like him would come across such a misery. I wonder, instead, why she still has to wonder so!