Here we have a retelling of the Maersk Alabama hijacking of 2009 which for those of use who watch headlines was about 5 minutes ago. The movie narrates using Phillips perspective as a merchant ship captain. Phillips was apparently an adroit captain who tries valiantly to evade an enemy in the form of boat-driving desperadoes who are madly motivated. The movie makes Phillips look intelligent and it is his cunning alone that probably saves his life in the end. The film is impressive in how it shows the US Navy handling the rescue attempt, and I was awed by the speed, cunning, and power of the Navy and the US Seals. You have to admire CA Phillips for how he handles things too. I give the movie 3.5/4 stars but I would save a half star for one thing the movies misses- whenever a terrorist plot unravels in any part of the world it is usually driven by terrible economic conditions on third world soil. I do not condone terrorism or hostage-taking of course, but I do think movies such as this overlook the underlying tragedy that runs parallel here, which is the grinding poverty that can make monsters out of ordinary men in faraway places. Unfortunately that particular topic does not make for fun movie plots, but it is equally true and important. Go see this movie, it is by far more significant than Gravity last week. I shed a tear at the end for CA Phillips when he finally receives medical attention. I wanted to shoot the pirates for being so ruthless.