CAPTAIN PHILLIPS REVIEW (GRADE: A)
There's been some discussion in the media as to whether the new film Captain Phillips represents its title character accurately, mostly because there's some question as to whether he's represented himself accurately, and the screenplay is based on his book, A Captain's Duty. I'll let others worry about that. Most “based-on-a-true-story” movies favor dramatic flair over facts, so I've found it useful to take them as cinema first and as history a distant second. With that in mind, this is a crackerjack thriller, directed with nail-biting efficiency by Paul Greengrass (who helmed two of the three Matt Damon Bourne movies, though his use of handheld cameras is thankfully less distracting here).
CONTENT OVERVIEW: Captain Phillips is rated PG-13. There are a handful of moderate profanities here and there, but not a steady stream of foul language. There is no sexuality or nudity. A man is hit on the head with a wrench and killed; another steps on broken glass and bleeds from his feet. A different man is cut on the hand with a knife. Captain Phillips is punched, choked, and beaten with the butt of a rifle. Some men are shot off-screen, though we see their blood splatter onto another character.