The Finest Hours

I am of the belief that a film does not need to be wholly original in order to be successful.  The Finest Hours is a testament to that belief.  The movie can be incredibly corny in some of its dramatized moments, and it obviously plays loose with a couple facts in order for it to fit the template for a Hollywood feel good story.  And yet, there's no denying that this is a highly effective film.  As an action thriller, the movie is wonderfully tense, and some of the action and special effects sequences are downright jaw dropping.

The plot of the film is taken from the true story of the S.S. Pendleton, and the rescue mission surrounding the ship which occurred on February 18, 1952.  The Pendleton broke apart during a ferocious storm at sea, stranding 34 crewmen upon the ruins of the ship as it slowly began to sink.  The Coast Guard at the time was busy tackling another emergency, so they could only send out four men to answer the Pendleton's distress call.  The leader of the rescue crew is Bernie Webber (Chris Pine), who has a haunted past concerning a previous failed rescue mission, and a woman waiting back on land named Miriam (Holliday Grainger), who is hoping to marry him and forces her way into the Coast Guard office so she can immediately hear any word about his situation during the rescue mission.  The film's opening 20 or so minutes deals with Bernie and Miriam's relationship, and frankly, it doesn't get the film off to a good start.  Their romance feels incredibly rushed and kind of cornball cute.  But once the action switches to the disaster on the Pendleton, the movie picks up and doesn't slow down for a minute.

The screenplay successfully balances two stories at once, as it covers not only the rescue attempt by Bernie and his limited crew, but also focuses on the men of the Pendleton and their efforts to survive and keep the ship above water as long as they can.  The man placed in charge of the crew's survival is Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck), who is not well-liked by the man, but the injured head of the crew puts him in charge, because he knows the ship better than anyone else, and can keep everyone alive the longest.  The movie does a wonderful job of building suspense here.  We know in the back of our heads that things will most likely end well, but the movie does not for one minute hide from the fact that these men are facing certain death.  Even though the film is being released underneath the Disney logo, parents should heed the PG-13 rating.  This is not really a film for children, as it gets incredibly intense at times.  This is a life and death struggle for everyone involved, and the movie never once lets us forget that.

Another thing that adds to the effectiveness of The Finest Hours is the remarkable special effects work.  Even though a lot of the storm and ruined ship effects were obviously done with computers, they are completely convincing, and never once looks like it was shot on a soundstage, unlike the recent sea adventure stinker, In the Heart of the Sea.  We can feel the chill and cold , as well as the danger these characters are going through.  This is a film that creates a wonderful sense of place and atmosphere, so we become so absorbed in the action, we forget about everything around us.  It really is amazing to see such a technically efficient film being released during the dreary days of January.  The effects work here is as good as anything you would see in your average summer blockbuster, and I have no idea why the Disney Corporation has decided to bury it this early in the year.

Before I move on, I would like to make one more note regarding the effects and the visuals of the film.  The movie is being shown in both the 3D and 2D format, and should you have the choice, definitely go for 2D.  This is a movie that is shot largely at night or in dark stormy seas, and wearing those glasses will only make the images loose impact and color.  Some people who saw the movie in 3D complained that the nighttime images looked muddy, and since this movie is pretty much 90% nighttime shots, you'll wind up paying a higher ticket price for a worse viewing experience.  While I'm sure some of the storm and shipwreck effects are great in 3D, it's not worth losing so much visual clarity for almost the whole movie.  In fact, I could see how that might affect your enjoyment of the film itself.

That being said, The Finest Hours works purely on a thrill ride and suspense level.  Yes, the performances are fine, even if the characters are not as well developed as they could be, but that's not why we're here.  We're here for spectacle, and the movie delivers in spades without once dumbing things down.  In fact, in terms of sheer intensity in terms of action at sea, this movie could be compared to 2000's The Perfect Storm.  It packs the same visual punch and sense of danger, but is a bit more hopeful than that film was.  This film strikes the perfect balance of creating a dangerous atmosphere, while at the same time not bogging us down with depression or terror.  Like I said earlier, once the movie gets past the slow opening and corny character introductions, it quickly evolves into a film that is tight, concise, and exciting as hell.

This is the first mainstream January release I've seen this year that doesn't feel like it's being shoveled out by the studio just to sucker some bored audience members.  In fact, I don't know why it's being released now, and not in a better time of the year.  I'm not saying The Finest Hours is a classic or anything, as it does have its flaws.  But it certainly deserves better company than a lot of the movies that are currently playing on screens.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

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