“Captain Phillips” follows the true story of the shipping freighter the Maersk Alabama and its hijacking by pirates off of the coast of Somalia.

Leading the cast is Tom Hanks as the titular Captain Phillips. I was really impressed by Hanks’ performance, especially with the not so great dialogue he had to work with.

One thing this film did not do well was dialogue. Being based on a book by the actual Captain Phillips, the dialogue could very well be accurate yet did not do much for the film then move the story forward. Most characters do not say much, and as a result most of the films speaking parts are dedicated solely to exposition. The film is paced well, but it did take me out of the reality.

Even though most of the speaking in the film seems solely for explanation, Hanks still manages to rise above the films few negative aspects to deliver a solid performance as a man trying to survive in an extremely stressful situation. It is clear that Hanks’ performance carries the film through its most impressive moments.

Although “Captain Phillips” is his first film, Somali-born Barkhad Abdi also brings a fantastic performance to the film as pirate Muse.

The fact that he ad-libbed some of his best lines really says a lot about his ability to get lost in a character. I really hope to see him pop up in more films, and after “Captain Phillips” I doubt it will be long before he is seen again.

One aspect of “Captain Phillips” that was done well was cinematography. Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, best known for his work on “The Hurt Locker,” brought a similar kinetic style to the camerawork. In the hectic scenes in which the pirates are attempting to board the ship, the camera moves enough to follow the action with urgency but doesn’t (generally) go over the top into motion-sickness inducing “Cloverfield” levels.

I was glad to see the pirates represented with depth rather than just simple bad guy targets. These men do not have a lot of options. Although it could never forgive the act of piracy on their part, you can at least understand their motivations and that they are just pawns.

As a whole, “Captain Phillips” falters in some aspects but still deserves a watch. I was constantly reminded of the much better “Zero Dark Thirty,” and the stakes seemed really low in this film by comparison. Most of the movie isn’t even following the entire crew, so the fact that not one, but three full Navy battleships were sent out really seems out of proportion to the situation. I am not a naval expert, but it definitely seemed like overkill.

3/5