Captain Phillips

After making his mark directing the second two Jason Bourne movies, Paul Greengrass has taken on some interesting projects.  "United 93" was about the heroes aboard the plane that ultimately went down in a Pennsylvania field on September 11th.  "Green Zone" starred Matt Damon as an agent in the Middle East looking for weapons that may or may not exist.  And now comes "Captain Phillips", a modern day pirate story in which "pirate" is simply a technical term.  Greengrass is just as interested with the men who turn to piracy, as he is with their victims.  The opening dialogue between Captain Phillips (played by Tom Hanks) and his wife foreshadows the bloody conclusion:  Phillips is worried about their children as they come into adulthood, noting the declining opportunity in his specific line of work.  The next scene takes place in an impoverished Somali fishing village, where piracy seems to exist out of necessity.  For the rest of the film Greengrass gives much screen time to the leader of a small band of pirates named Muse (played by Barkhad Abdi ), making special note of his intelligence, sense of humor, and drive.  Phillips' character is naturally more refined where these qualities are concerned, but he realizes that Muse's desperation is what ultimately trumps all else.  It is to Tom Hank's credit that there are no real surprises in his performance.  From the conscientious captain in the early scenes, to the powerful final moments in which basic human emotions overwhelm him, Hank's portrayal of Phillips feels spot-on.  What causes this film to stand out is Barkhad Abdi's role as the untraditional antagonist.  I was rooting for him in certain situations, felt compassion at other times, and in the end honestly feel that his punishment is too severe.  There aren't any cheap shortcuts taken, we don't see any starving Somalis or even know whether these men have families back home.  Greengrass allows Phillips (and in turn, the audience) to become sympathetic towards the pirates, not because he believes that they're right, but because they are men like him.