Summary
The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.
Cast
Tom Hanks
Captain Richard Phillips
Barkhad Abdi
Muse
Barkhad Abdirahman
Bilal
Faysal Ahmed
Najee
Mahat M. Ali
Elmi
Michael Chernus
Shane Murphy
David Warshofsky
Mike Perry
Corey Johnson
Ken Quinn
Chris Mulkey
John Cronan
Yul Vazquez
Captain Frank Castellano
Max Martini
SEAL Commander
Catherine Keener
Andrea Phillips
Omar Berdouni
Nemo
Mohamed Ali
Asad
Issak Farah Samatar
Hufan
Thomas Grube
Maersk Alabama Crew
Mark Holden
Maersk Alabama Crew
San Shella
Maersk Alabama Crew
Terence Anderson
Maersk Alabama Crew
Marc Anwar
Maersk Alabama Crew
David Webber
Maersk Alabama Crew
Amr El-Bayoumi
Maersk Alabama Crew
Vincenzo Nicoli
Maersk Alabama Crew
Kapil Arun
Maersk Alabama Crew
Louis Mahoney
Maersk Alabama Crew
Peter Landi
Maersk Alabama Crew
Angus MacInnes
Maersk Alabama Crew
Ian Ralph
Maersk Alabama Crew
Kristian Hjordt Beck
Maersk Alabama Crew
Kurt Larsen
Maersk Alabama Crew
Bader Choukouko
Somali Boy
Idurus Shiish
Pirate Leader
Azeez Mohammed
Pirate Leader
Abdurazak Ahmed Adan
Pirate Leader
Duran Mohamed Hassan
Asad's Crew
Nasir Jama
Asad's Crew
Kadz Souleiman
Asad's Crew
Scott Oates
Navy SEAL Group
David B. Meadows
Navy SEAL Group
Shad Jason Hamilton
Navy SEAL Group
Adam Wendling
Navy SEAL Group
Billy Jenkins
Navy SEAL Group
Mark Semos
Navy SEAL Group
Dean Franchuk
Navy SEAL Group
Rey Hernandez
Navy SEAL Group
Christopher Stadulis
Navy SEAL Group
Roger Edwards
Navy SEAL Group
John Patrick Barry
Navy SEAL Group
Raleigh Morse
Navy SEAL Group
Dale McClellan
Navy SEAL Group
Hugh Middleton
Navy SEAL Group
Raymond Care
Navy SEAL Group
Stacha Hicks
UKMTO Officer
Will Bowden
US Maritime Officer
Len Anderson IV
USS Bainbridge VBSS Officer
Giovanni Alabiso
Airport Passenger (uncredited)
Devon Black
Able Seaman L. Haddock (uncredited)
Joshua Brown
Burlington Airport TSA Agent (uncredited)
Steve Campbell
Lieutenant Commander Scott Atherton (uncredited)
Bob Dio
TV News Reporter (uncredited)
Maria Dizzia
Allison McColl (uncredited)
Herman Gambhir
US Maritime Officer (uncredited)
Georgia Goodman
US Maritime Aldington (uncredited)
Crew
Director
Paul Greengrass
Screenplay
Billy Ray
Reviews
kineticandroid
June 21, 2014
Allow me to start with what you likely have already read — this film is well-crafted and tense procedural about a true story. The fact that I still found it tense and exciting, even when I already knew the ending (including the oft-mentioned Captain Phillips ending scene) is a high compliment.
So why tell this story? I took it as a meditation on powerlessness, a film that didn't deal with heroes or villains, only victims. There's a shipping crew that is easily sought out by pirates, and there are the pirates that ultimately fail. In either case, it's not as if either side feels in control of their destiny. They're just playing to some largely unseen authority. After the crew deflects the first attempted piracy in the film, one character says that as a union member, he didn't sign up for this kind of danger. The reaction? He chose to work on a ship that went around the horn of Africa. "What did you expect?" he's asked. Later, when one of the pirates steps on broken glass and injures he foot, he's asked the very same question by his leaders. Even the two competing captains — the pirate and the title character — ultimately are swayed (or saved) by the power of the state. What did they expect? To be the one in control?
