On April 8, 2009, a small group of Somali
pirates hijacked a cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama. The ship's
captain was kidnapped and taken aboard a life boat with the pirates; the U.S.
Navy came to make an attempt at a rescue mission for Captain Richard Phillips.
In 2013, a movie inspired/based on Richard's biographical book was released.
The film's cast included Tom Hanks as
Capt. Richard Phillips, Barkhad Abdi as pirate leader Abduwali Muse, and
Michael Chernus as first officer Shane Murphy.
SUMMARY
Captain Phillips wastes no time getting
to the beginning of the story. Captain Richard Phillips is placed in charge of
the cargo ship Maersk Alabama. They are to go past the Somalian
coast and around the Horn of Africa. With that, the ship sets off for its
fateful (and historic) voyage.
Phillips is confident they can avoid problems with
pirates, yet the crew has no weapons at all. The Alabama is
unarmed. Still, Phillips makes sure that the crew runs drills to be prepared in
the event of a pirate attack.
Eventually, two small boats carrying pirates give
chase to the Alabama. Phillips tricks one boat into turning around
by making it appear that he is calling the military by radio. The other ship is
not nearly well-equipped enough to chase the cargo ship, and thus turns aside.
All is not well, though; the pirates improve their
ship with new parts. One ship, now equipped with two engines, makes another
attempt at catching the Alabama. This time, the pirates finally
succeed, and they board the cargo ship.
Phillips and the officers are held hostage in the
control room. The lead pirate, Abduwali Muse, makes it clear that he is now the
new captain. He informs Phillips that he is no longer captain of the Alabama.
Captain Phillips tries to stall for time. He attempts
to keep a cautious relationship with the pirates. The band of pirates
eventually takes the money from the ship's safe and board the lifeboat.
However, they take Phillips with them, and now the Navy races to rescue the
kidnapped sailor.
CONTENT
Throughout the film, guns are fired many times.
Rarely, though, do we see someone shot. Most of the film's violence is made up
of tense situations. The pirates are constantly pointing guns at the Alabama's
crew. There is one scene where a gun is held to a man's head, and a pirate
nearly kills him. Also, toward the end, a group of people are shot, and the
Captain is covered in blood.
As far as profanity, there is sadly quite a usage of
foul language. A** is used once and s*** is used a few times. H*** is used a
couple of times, as well as several uses of d*** and God's name. Unfortunately,
there is also one or two brief uses of Jesus' name (completely unnecessary).
There is no sexual content of any kind.
Captain Phillips is a great thriller
movie and a rather intense one. While there are not many deaths, the threat of
guns is ever-constant. With the unfortunate amount of profanities, anyone who
views this movie will want to be on guard. This is definitely not a film for
the entire family, but still a good film, nonetheless, save
for the language. Yet Captain Phillips is portrayed as a sacrificial leader who
is willing to put his own life in danger before those of his crew (as Christ
Himself laid down His life for all mankind). With some good lessons to take
from Captain Phillips, moviegoers will still want to be cautious of some
violence and the swear words.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Length: 134 minutes
Rating: PG-13 (for sustained intense sequences of menace,
some violence with bloody images, and for substance use)
Director: Paul Greengrass
Producers: Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti, Scott Rudin, Kevin
Spacey
Music: Henry Jackman
Year of release: 2013
Primary audience: Teens, adults
Primary audience: Teens, adults
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