Tom Hanks New Movie 'Captain Phillips' Fact and Fiction [Spoilers]
Tom Hanks's new movie "Captain Phillips" is based on the story of merchant mariner Richard Phillips, captain of the MV Maersk Alabama. The Alabama was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009.
While the movie depicts Phillips as heroic, many of the crew members of the MV Maersk Alabama say his actions were reckless. But is this another movie loosely based on a true story or is the real story as thrilling as the film?
[Warning: Spoilers Ahead]
Fact: The Somali pirates arrived while the Alabama's crew was doing an emergency drill.
According to crew members, Richard Phillips was a no-nonsense captain and made it a point to run several emergency drills. One drill got interrupted by pirates like in the film.
Fact: Phillips is kidnapped.
The Alabama crew tried to exchange the captain for a capture pirate like in the movie but once the pirate hostage was off the Alabama, the Somalis drove the lifeboat without letting the captain climb back to his ship.
Fact: Phillips faked a call to deter the pirates.
When Captain Phillips saw the pirate boats targeting the Alabama, he faked a radio communication to a U.S. Navy warship.
In the film, one ship and two speedboats are in hot pursuit of the Alabama but upon hearing the fake call, one of the speedboats back off.
Fact: The Navy SEALs got involved.
This is part fact, part fiction. While Phillips was on board the lifeboat, the Somali pirates planned to kill him. However, Phillips got so sick that a doctor from the Navy had to climb on board. This gave the SEALs an opening to attack.
Fiction: Captain Phillips took pity on one of the pirates.
Before the screening of "Captain Phillips", Richard Phillips said, "There was no Stockholm syndrome". In the film however, Tom Hanks says a few things that could be classified as sympathy.
The high seas drama starring veteran actor Tom Hanks may have slight changes but most of the events depicted in the film are true, according to Time Magazine.