The Finest Hours (Cinema Review)

Starring: Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Eric Bana
Directed By: Craig Gillespie
Running Time: 117 Minutes
UK Release Date: 19th February 2016
BBFC Certificate: 12A

Disney presents ‘The Finest Hours’, which based on the true…. Hang on, Disney presents? Disney didn’t present the new Star Wars movie or any of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. I guess it wants to maintain its family friendly image when dealing with films that don’t focus on action or violence. Although in the above films they do mostly paint a binary picture of good vs evil, where good will always win with a fist, a blaster or a lightsabre.

Back on track, The Finest Hours is based on the remarkable true story of an oil tanker that is ripped in two by a massive storm off the coast of Chatham Massachusetts in February 1952.  30 sailors were trapped in the slowly sinking stern of the ship, and 4 brave coastguards in a small boat are sent on a mission to rescue them against all odds.

Now although this film is in 3D and features a lot of CGI it doesn’t have the feel of a modern disaster movie, mainly because recent entries have been over the top and packed with unrealistic scenarios involving way too much computer imagery and poor acting. That being said I initially found this to have been an unrealistic scenario as I couldn’t fathom how the back end of a ship could stay afloat, but it does for the most part.

The Finest Hours has a wholesome and nostalgic feel with noble men doing what’s right despite them staring death in the face, and captures the feel of old-school adventure films of yesteryear. This is a period drama which never goes over the top in a patriotic way, which is refreshing to say the least for an American movie.

As you would expect the scenes are primarily split between two locations – sea and land – and begins onshore when coast guard Bernie Webber (Chris Pine) meets his future bride Miriam (Holliday Grainger) for their first date. Cut to them three months later when she pops the question, which was unusual in the 50’s and she spends most of this film as the strong feminine type in a world of men, but their relationship becomes cheesy and over sentimental as the film goes on and could have been trimmed down a lot.

There is a lot of talk about how a storm the previous February claimed the lives of several sailors and coast guards, which comes from various fishermen and townsfolk all in a foreboding manor reminiscent of a speech from Quint in Jaws (1975). Yes, we know there’s a storm coming, we get it.

Once we get to the SS Pendleton crewman Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck, who I still think should do a movie with Ryan Gosling where they play brothers) is the man with a plan to save his crew after the front end of the ship rips off and sinks, which although we don’t fully see the effect is pretty spectacular.

Now I don’t just want to describe the film scene by scene but it is difficult as this is a pretty straightforward narrative as the rescue unfolds, but I was unsure throughout whether everyone would survive.

Overall this film is well cast and there are some good supporting roles, but there are some archetypal characters that stray very close to being one dimensional. Eric Bana is wasted as Coast Guard officer Daniel Webster, who seems clueless at his job and sends Webber and co. on their suicide mission. But strong performances from Affleck and Pine overshadow this and the scenes either on the SS Pendleton and the coastguards small rescue boat are captivating and tense, if not all that thrilling.

The effects are good and the 3D serves it purpose, but I have a huge issue with the ending due to the lack of common sense shown by the coastal townsfolk. I won’t go into details but it is just stupid and took me out of the film.

Overall Verdict:  Disney presents a nostalgic rescue movie which is well cast and executed, but unfortunately floundered during the last 10 minutes. However it is more enjoyable than other recent sea-adventure dramas and has some great performances from Pine and Affleck.

Reviewer: George Elcombe