Captain Phillips

Based on the 2009 incident in which a US tanker was captured by a handful of Somali pirates, Captain Phillips is a story tailor made for film and fulfils that potential thanks to sharp direction from Paul Greengrass and two very strong performances at its core. There have been suggestions that the Captain is made out to be more heroic than he really was and that is was his ignoring of the pirate threat that led the ship into a dangerous area. Phillips himself has said the ordeal was even worse than depicted in the film. However the acts displayed here are far removed from the triumphant heroics you see in many moves nowadays as the ending makes clear and the resulting film, even if it is not totally accurate, is a very well assembled nail biting thriller that will take you beyond the edge of your seat!