DVD Corner

Captain Phillips DVD Review

“Captain Phillips” is one of the 10 best films of 2013.

The plot: Captain Richard Phillips and the crew of the MV Maersk Alabama container ship find themselves fighting for survival when their ship becomes hijacked by Somali pirates.

Director Paul Greengrass (best known for “United 93” and the two Bourne sequels) has returned to the film world with yet another gritty intense thriller (this one based on a true story). Even though we (the audience) know the ship will be hijacked and how things will turn out (for the most part), Greengrass manages to make “Captain Phillips” a completely gripping film from start to finish due to his skilled direction. While the hand held camera cinematography style is not always advantageous for many films, Greengrass always manages to use it intelligently by giving every scene (especially action scenes) sense of down to earth realism.

As award worthy as the direction is, the acting in “Captain Phillips” is even better. Just when you think you’ve seen Tom Hanks do it all, he goes and outdoes himself here giving one of the finest (if not the finest) performance of his legendary career. His portrayal of the brave, smart, and authoritative family man Richard Phillips never feels showy like some of his past roles. Instead, he makes the character feel, for lack of a better word, real. This is never more evident than during the very end (I won’t spoil what that scene is). It’s an absolute shame he was snubbed by the Academy Awards for ‘Phillips’ (and “Saving Mr. Banks” for that matter).

Not to be forgotten here is the supporting cast (primarily the first time actors playing the Somali pirates). Even though Hanks was not nominated, Barkhad Abdi did earn a much deserved nomination for playing the lead pirate Abduwali. Abdi (in his film debut) really holds his own opposite Tom Hanks as the desperate, broke, commanding, determined pirate. It will be very interesting to see where his career goes after this.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.40:1. How does it look? Fantastic! It should be noted that this movie is also available on Blu-ray (which will no doubt look even better).

Audio Track: Dolby Digital 5.1. How does it sound? Pitch perfect.

Extras:
* Sony 4K TV and movie trailer ads.
* Ultraviolet digital copy.
* “Capturing Captain Phillips”- A 3 part nearly hour long extra that tackles the true life story, the film’s production, rehearsals, filming on a ship, key sequences, etc. A very well done series of extra feature.
 * A mellow and sometimes quiet solo commentary by director Paul Greengrass in which he talks about the story, the characters, the score, behind-the-scenes stories, filming action sequences, etc. Worth a listen for film buffs.

Overall Thoughts: “Captain Phillips” may not have much replay value, but it is absolutely a film you must see once.

February 1, 2014 - Posted by nicklyons1 | DVD review | Academy Awards 2014, Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips DVD Review, Richard Phillips, Tom Hanks, Top 10 Films Of 2013