aAh! Magazine
You are here: Home / Entertainment / News / Captain Phillips : Fearless or Feckless?
Entertainment, News

Captain Phillips : Fearless or Feckless?

1st November 2013 By 0 228
Words by Lisa Burns
Captain Richard Phillips has been immortalised in Hollywood’s latest Oscar-nomination-grabbing outing. Captain Phillips was released in the UK on 18th October, and is a real edge-of-your-seat affair.
 
A slow starter, it follows the real-life story of merchant mariner, Phillips, as he heroically handles the situation of his Maersk cargo ship Alabama being taken hostage by Somali pirates. As the first half of the film unfolds, we see a representation of Phillips as a natural leader, a placid family man, professional to a tee. We then see his masterful leadership of his brave crew in the hostage situation. 
 
The viewer cannot but look on with a mixture of horror and admiration as Phillips heroically offers himself as a Christ-like sacrificial victim in exchange for the freedom of his crew. The second half of the film gives a moment-by-moment account of Phillips’ experiences as the sole hostage in the ship’s claustrophobic lifeboat.
Barkhad Abdi
The really interesting story, however, is the one that unfolds when you take a look at the REAL Captain Phillips. The film is based on Phillips’s autobiography, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS and Dangerous Days at Sea, which Columbia Pictures bought the rights to in 2009.
As the film was promoted and Phillips was re-thrust into the limelight, his detractors also emerged from the woodwork – but from perhaps the unlikeliest of places: his own crew.
 
A member of the Alabama crew (who spoke anonymously for legal reasons) said, ‘Phillips wasn’t the big leader like he was in the movie. No one wants to sail with him’. The crew member also claimed that the real Phillips refused to follow through with the anti-piracy protocol, declaring, ‘he was real arrogant.’ These claims are the complete opposite of the events retold in the film.
Richard Phillips - Rooftop: A Captain's Duty
It emerges that engineer Mike Perry, who has a small part in the film, may actually have been the real hero of the situation. He had the crew hide in the ship’s boiler room and managed to attack one of the pirates in an attempt to ensure Phillips’s safety. Some reports have branded Phillips as irresponsible and reckless with the lives of his crew; though how much of this is jealousy or an attempt to steal some of his,
perhaps deserved, limelight, is ultimately speculation.
 
Whoever the real Captain Phillips is, the film is thought-provoking, entertaining and certainly well worth a watch. I’ll let you decide as to whether Phillips deserves the title of hero.
 
Lisa Burns studies History and English at MMU. When she’s not got her nose in a book, she loves having adventures in the great outdoors! Follow her on Twitter: @LittleRobin09

About the author / 

aAh!

aAh! Magazine is Manchester Metropolitan University's arts and culture magazine.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More News Stories:

  • 16th June 2026

    Rainbow Kitten Surprise @ O2 Apollo review – enthralling and magnetic

    Featured image and gallery: Sub Khan It’s no surprise that Rainbow Kitten Surprise have made a name for themselves in recent years, their genre-merging approach and deeply introspective lyrics piquing the curiosity of thousands. Formed in 2013, the band have long surpassed their humble roots of playing their dorm rooms in North Carolina. From establishing…

  • 16th June 2026

    Drums as bins and enamel pins: The ‘punk-ish passion of Open Fly

    Featured image: Ella Venn and Nicola Cutts Manchester’s Open Fly talk new music, performance mishaps and men. Bassist Lily Rose believes that women have better things to say than men when it comes to song lyrics, especially in the world of indie bands. She says this with a sheepish smile as her bandmate and frontwoman…

  • 16th June 2026

    Five analogue hobbies to refresh your mind

    Featured image: Nicola Cutts & Olivia Taberner Watching a movie, scrolling through social media and playing video games can be fun, but sometimes, you just want to slow down and disconnect from a screen. Where better to begin than with a magazine that you’re holding? Here are five analogue hobbies that will kick off a…

  • 16th June 2026

    Album review: Kyle Alessandro – Aura – Alessandro’s a winner

    Featured image: Aura Album artwork Kyle Alessandro’s journey these last few years has been nothing short of impressive. Previous album, Evig & Alltid, recorded in Norwegian and released in 2023, had a more conventional pop sound but latest record Aura swerves this and sees Alessandro go searching for a different sound altogether. With Aura, there is…

Latest Articles