This riveting heart-pounding thriller that is “Captain Phillips” is based on a harrowing true story of the raiding of a cargo ship called the Maersk Alabama, the first American ship to be raided in over 200 years. Oscar winner Tom Hanks [“Forrest Gump”, “Saving Private Ryan”] plays the unfortunate Captain Richard Phillips, and this is arguably his best performance, and rightfully so. Tom Hanks has really gone a long ways since his breakthrough role in “Splash.” He portrays Phillips as a clever, yet down-to-earth man who attempts to keep him and his crew safe as possible from Somali pirates.

Director Paul Greengrass’ [“The Bourne Trilogy”, “United 93”] documentary-esque filmmaking style and the superb cast brings this true event to life on the big screen. This masterfully crafted thriller is broken into three acts.

The captivating first act presents the Somali pirates, led by Captain Muse [first-time actor Barkhad Abdi], trying to get onto the Maersk Alabama, while Phillips tries his best to prevent that from happening. Anyone who’s heard of this story knows that he failed at that.

The suspenseful second act shows the pirates searching through the ship while the crew members are playing hide and seek and fearing for their lives as Phillips converses with the pirates, distracting them the best he could.

In the third act, the movie turns into a psychological thriller when the scared and increasingly desperate pirates have a standoff against the United States Navy after they took Phillips hostage and attempted to escape back to Somalia in a lifeboat.

This movie does not delve into piracy or American patriotism. This is a straightforward and relentless thriller that gets to the point. There is not one scene where your mind will be wandering, because you will be captivated throughout the whole movie. The entire cast is stellar. Even the pirates, who are played by newbie actors, are fantastic and terrifying all at the same time. The documentary-style directing, the incredible acting, and the pacing all mixes together perfectly and provides an outstanding thriller that can leave the whole audience needing to steady their heart rate before they have to get up and leave. And I admit, I was trembling when I tried to get up from my seat.

A+