Captain Philips

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.

Director: Paul Greengrass

Writers: Billy Ray (screenplay), Richard Phillips (based upon the book "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea" by) | 1 more credit »

Stars: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman

Story Plot:
Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) takes command of the MV Maersk Alabama, an unarmed container ship from the Port of Salalah inOman, with orders to sail through the Gulf of Aden to Mombasa, Kenya. Wary of pirate activity off the coast of the Horn of Africa, he and First Officer Shane Murphy (Michael Chernus) order strict security precautions on the vessel and carry out practice drills. During a drill, the vessel is chased by Somali pirates in two skiffs, and Phillips calls for help. Knowing that the pirates are listening to radio traffic, he pretends to call a warship, requesting immediate air support. One skiff turns around in response, and the other – manned by four heavily armed pirates led by Abduwali Muse (Barkhad Abdi) – loses engine power trying to steer through the Maersk Alabama's wake.

The next day Muse's skiff, now fitted with two outboard engines, returns with the same four pirates aboard. Despite the best efforts of Phillips and his crew, the pirates secure their ladder to the Maersk Alabama. As they board, Phillips tells the crew to hide in the engine room and allows himself to be captured. He offers Muse the $30,000 in the ship's safe, but Muse's orders are to ransom the ship and crew in exchange for millions of dollars of insurance money from the shipping company. While they search the ship, Murphy sees that the youngest pirate Bilal (Barkhad Abdirahman) does not have sandals and tells the crew to line the engine room hallway with broken glass. Chief Engineer Mike Perry (David Warshofsky) cuts power to the ship, plunging the lower decks into darkness. Bilal cuts his feet when they reach the engine room, and Muse continues to search alone. The crew members ambush Muse and arrange to release him into a lifeboat to get the intruders off the ship. However, the pirates refuse to release Phillips, and the lifeboat launches with all five of them on board.

As the lifeboat heads for the shore, tensions flare between the pirates as they run low on the herb stimulant khat and lose contact with their mother ship. Najee (Faysal Ahmed) becomes agitated and tries to convince the others to kill Phillips. They are later intercepted by the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Bainbridge. The Bainbridge's captain Frank Castellano (Yul Vazquez) is ordered to prevent the pirates from reaching the mainland by any means necessary. Even when additional ships arrive, Muse asserts that he has come too far and will not surrender. The negotiators are unable to change his mind and a DEVGRU SEAL team parachutes in to intervene, while Phillips makes an unsuccessful attempt to escape from the lifeboat.

While three SEAL marksmen get into positions, Castellano and the SEALs continue to try to find a peaceful solution, eventually taking the lifeboat under tow. Muse agrees to board the Bainbridge, when he is told that his clan elders have arrived to negotiate Phillips's ransom. In the lifeboat, Najee decides to take full control; the pirates tie up Phillips and blindfold him, and the Bainbridge's crew stops the tow. As the pirates are about to shoot Phillips, the marksmen get three clear shots and simultaneously kill the pirates. On board the Bainbridge, Muse is taken into custody and arrested for piracy. Phillips is rescued and treated. He is in shock and disoriented, but he thanks the rescue team for saving his life.