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Captain Phillips

Captain Phillips

Action · Drama · Thriller · 2013

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.

Movie details

Captain Phillips

“Out here survival is everything.”

2013 Action · Drama · Thriller 2h 14m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Captain Phillips?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Paul Greengrass

Written by

Billy Ray

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks

Captain Richard Phillips

Barkhad Abdi

Barkhad Abdi

Muse

Barkhad Abdirahman

Barkhad Abdirahman

Bilal

Faysal  Ahmed

Faysal Ahmed

Najee

Mahat M. Ali

Mahat M. Ali

Elmi

Michael Chernus

Michael Chernus

Shane Murphy

David Warshofsky

David Warshofsky

Mike Perry

Court is in session

Put Captain Phillips on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.